The parliament bell rings, signaling the start of the very first session for the 13th Malaysian parliament today, as elected representatives rushed in to take their seats in the House amidst heavy police presence.

Today is probably the only day that the entire legislative assembly will sit together, as parliament attendance is never known to be full on normal days.

Over 50 uniformed police personnel were stationed at the road leading towards Parliament House as well as inside the grounds.

kl black505 event camping 220613 The heavy police presence, considerable more extensive than normal parliament security detail, is a direct reaction to two ongoing protests at the nearby Padang Merdok.

One protest group comprise of those from last Saturday's anti-electoral fraud ‘Black 505' rally, die-hards who are continuing their protest by camping on the field, in defiance of a KL City Hall (DBKL) vacate order.

Meanwhile, the second group is from the National Indian Rights Action Team (Niat), who are demanding the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) be instituted by parliament.

Niat protestors, who marched from Padang Merbok to the road which leads into the Parliament grounds, also want the destruction of copies of the controversial novel ‘Interlok’, which is still being housed in the Education Ministry storage.

NONE The book, written by National Laurette Abdullah Hussein and introduced as the text for the Bahasa Malaya literature component for Form Five students in 2011, courted controversy as several quarters accused it of containing historical inconsistencies and racial slurs against Indians.

It was eventually withdrawn from the national syllabus.

Unlike the students' march to the building to protest the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) last time, there were no barbed wire unrolled today, however, temporary water-filled plastic barriers - the kind used to close off roads for construction - were used to seal off the route of entry.

Six items on agenda

Meanwhile in the House, proceedings are expected to be mild today, with mostly administrative matters to be settled. Only six items are on the agenda today:

  • The proclamation to summon parliament to meet;
  • The election of the Dewan Rakyat speaker;
  • The swearing-in of the speaker;
  • Oath-taking for all members;
  • Election and swearing-in of the two deputy speakers;
  • A motion ordering the chief of police to ensure safe passage of MPs to and from Parliament House in the discharge of their duties.
NONE However, a recent article published by a news portal suggests rumours are abound of a potential motion of no-confidence to be called against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( left ) by Umno camps supposedly keen to topple the PM and BN chairperson.

The existence of such a motion was denied by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of parliamentary affairs Shahidan Kassim in a press conference yesterday.

Earlier this morning Teo Nie Ching (DAP – Kulai) had filed an emergency motion under Standing Order 18(2) to discuss the haze crisis.

According to regulations, her motion, if accepted by the speaker, may be debated within two days from today.

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