Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today spent 45 minutes to monitor the preparation on the temporary Parliament assembly hall which will be used for the first time for the Dewan Rakyat sitting scheduled to begin on Oct 3.

Najib also visited several areas of the temporary hall including the location of his seat.

Also present were Works Minister Shaziman Mansor and both deputy Dewan Rakyat speakers Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Ronald Kiandee.

On Oct 7, the temporary assembly hall will also see the tabling of 2012 Budget by the prime minister.

The conversion of a multipurpose hall at the Parliament building into the temporary assembly hall was completed in just five months at a cost of RM28 million.

    

It followed the government’s announcement that the Parliament building would undergo a total structural renovation due to damages and leakages that occurred over the years.

The temporary hall is expected to be used for Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara sittings over the next two years pending completion of the renovation.

Meanwhile, Shaziman said the temporary hall was now fully completed and efforts were being done to finalise the sound and technology system.

“Everything is okay, so far. We will make the final test next Monday,” he said, adding that the renovation design on the original Parliament building was expected to be ready by November.

- Bernama