Bill debates not wasted if Parliament dissolves soon - Nazri

PARLIAMENT | Any amendments passed or matters debated in the current session of Parliament will not be wasted should the Dewan Rakyat be dissolved before its full term, said Nazri Abdul Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas).

He said that even if a new government is formed after the 15th general election (GE15), all matters passed in the current Dewan Rakyat session will be brought to the Dewan Negara.

“If the election is called or otherwise, we know that what will change are only the members of Parliament.

“What has been debated in Parliament will be continued, even if we were to stop halfway and the Dewan Rakyat is dissolved,” he said.

The current Dewan Rakyat session is scheduled for 32 days from yesterday (Oct 3) to Nov 29. The upcoming Dewan Negara, or Senate, session is scheduled for 11 days from Nov 21 to Dec 7.

Nazri said this today while debating the Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill 2022.

He was responding to Mahfuz Omar (Pakatan Harapan-Pokok Sena).

Mahfuz asked whether Nazri agreed that their time debating the bill will be wasted if Parliament is dissolved before the bill passes through the Senate and is gazetted for enforcement.

“Maybe in the next round YB (Mahfuz) will be minister, so you should support having elections soon. Not oppose it,” said Nazri.

Mahfuz, who is a former deputy minister of human resources, said the amendments to the bill should be pursued to their fullest extent.

“We support amendments to this act but they should be debated until the end (up to the Senate) so they can be enforced soon.

“We should not waste time to do it halfway,” Mahfuz said.

Nazri, a former law minister, insisted there is no issue of wasted time as all matters will be brought forward to the next Dewan Rakyat session after GE15.

Since earlier today, speculation is rife that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament before Budget 2023 is tabled this Friday (Oct 7).

This comes after the Umno supreme council set a deadline for polls to be held this year.

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