PARLIAMENT | There was an awkward moment at the Dewan Rakyat today when there were no ministers or their deputies present to second the tabling of the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia Bill 2017.

This occurred when Deputy Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Henry Sum Agong tabled the bill for the second reading.

Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Ismail Mohamed Said, who chaired the sitting, then looked around ministers or deputy ministers who could second the bill.

"Who will second (the bill)?" he asked.

It was then that opposition lawmakers realised the absence of any ministers, and poked fun at the ruling coalition.

"Retract the bill. I propose an adjournment, if not, hari ini dalam sejarah (today will go down in history),” said G Manivannan (photo) (PKR-Kapar).

"It's a shame for Parliament," shouted one lawmaker, while another could be heard saying "all the deputy ministers are lazy today".

In jest, the deputy speaker said he was forced to delay the sitting for ten minutes because he needed to use the toilet.

When the session resumed, Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan had taken his seat and opposition MPs argued that the bill had to be tabled again for second reading. 

Ismail: Honourable MPs. I had to go to the washroom earlier. I'm sure the member for Kapar heard what I said earlier. I requested 10 minutes so I could go to the washroom.

Manivanannan: Good tactic Datuk Seri Speaker.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS - Pokok Sena): Mr Speaker. What bill is the deputy minister (Kamalanathan) seconding? He was not here when the bill was tabled.

Ismail: I can confirm that the deputy minister as in the special chambers and he was following what was being tabled.

Mahfuz: How can that be?

Manivannan: What is he listening to in the special chambers? The session there or in this chamber?

Ismail: If the MPs are not in the chambers when the minister (tables a bill), can the MPs participate in the debate? Isn't that the same?

Eventually, Ismail ignored the howls of protests and instructed the house to continue with the debate.

The proposed amendment to the bill will allow the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), which handles trademark applications, to diversify its sources of income by setting up subsidiaries.

According to Henry, the move will reduce the dependence of MyIPO on government funds, particulary in terms of the cost of training, promotion and organising programmes to boost innovation and creativity.

Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid (BN-Kota Tinggi), meanwhile, claimed that empowering MyIPO, and by extension the intellectual property protection framework, would make Malaysia more attractive to foreign investors.