PARLIAMENT | Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said revoking allowances of MPs who are not present in the House during the late sessions is "too drastic".

He said it is normal to not have a 100 percent attendance, especially when the Dewan Rakyat is in session into the night.

"Sometimes the House is full, sometimes less. If we go to parliaments overseas, it is the same. If it goes on until midnight, there will not be 222 MPs. As long as there is a quorum, it suffices, because whatever is said will be recorded in the hansard," Ariff said.

He was responding to complaints from PAS Pendang MP Awang Hashim about low attendance in the Dewan Rakyat.

The House is currently taking time to debate the midterm review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.

Yesterday, the House was in session late. Today, The House will also be in session until 8.30pm to allow MPs time to voice their views. It is expected that the debate will continue tomorrow before being wrapped up.

It is normal for the House to not be in full attendance when debates over a motion or a bill are spread across several days.

Attendance usually picks up at the close of the debate, as the respective ministers wrap up the debate and respond to questions raised by MPs.

Meanwhile, Ariff said it was also understandable if ministers were not in attendance during the extended sessions.

"Everyone knows that ministers have matters at the office. We are not like the Australian Parliament, where ministries are just next door with Parliament in the middle, so ministers can come as quickly as possible.

"Our ministers are in Putrajaya, and have matters to attend to, this has to be considered," he said.