The Selangor state assembly sitting next week will be cut to four days at most to make way for the Hulu Selangor by-election.

This is a drastic reduction from the seven days scheduled already for the lawmakers to meet in the first day of the third term.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR-Seri Setia) confirmed that the move is for the polls.

Despite the nomination day being only on April 17, politicians from both sides have already hit the ground started to shore up support.

btn forum 241209 nik nazmi However, Nik Nazmi ( left ) stopped short of saying that the debates in the sitting will be focused on Hulu Selangor.

"It will still be a normal sitting, just shorter," he said when contacted by Malaysiakini .

There are also indications that sessions will stretch into the night to fit in all the debates and motions.

Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San said that a lot of motions still remain and everyone will have to be given the opportunity to debate them.

Speaker of the house Teng Chang Khim also said that shortening  the sitting is beyond his control.

"If the government feels that they have a lot of business that they need to fulfill in the House, they will extend; and likewise if they feel that they need to rush through some issues, they will reduce the meeting days," he said.

  Sitting not just on Hulu Selangor

Nik Nazmi, who is also MB Khalid Ibrahim's political secretary, refuted claims that motions to be debated will be centered around the upcoming polls.

"The deadline to hand in the motions is 14 days before the sitting.

"And that was before the date of the by-election was announced," he said.

While Hulu Selangor MP Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad died on March 25, the Election Commission only announced the date of the by-election on April 2.

The deadline for the motions would have been March 29 under normal circumsrtances.

Nik Nazmi also added he will be tabling a motion to condemn the Malay daily Utusan Malaysia and its columnist Awang Selamat for "insulting" the Sultan of Selangor.

He had previously said that action should be taken against both the Utusan and Awang Selamat for "questioning" the ruler for not showing up at the first Perkasa Annual General Meeting late last month.

This session will also see the return of four BN lawmakers who were suspended for six months in July for insulting Selangor's Select Committee for Competency, Accountability and Transparency (SELCAT) in the media.

They are Marsum Paing (Dengkil), Warno Dogol (Sabak), Mohd Isa Abu Kasim (Batang Kali) and Mohamed Idris Abu Bakr (Hulu Bernam).

Opposition leader Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo will still not be able to make a comeback as he is serving a one-year suspension for failing to attend the SELCAT hearings on his involvement in the Wives of Selangor Assemblymen and MPs Welfare and Charity Organisation (Balkis) scandal.

It has been previously reported that close to RM10 million of Balkis funds have been channelled to another account just before the Pakatan Rakyat took over the state administration.