KUALA LUMPUR: The Special Dewan Rakyat meeting today kicked off with fireworks as the initial proceedings this morning turned into a shouting match among members of parliament, visibly upset with Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun for not allowing proper debates to take place in the August House.
Langkawi Member of Parliament Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the current situation demands the Dewan Rakyat to speak, discuss and debate on matters related to the public's interest.
The former prime minister pointed out that with daily Covid-19 cases reaching over 17,000 while over 100 deaths have been reported a day, the government's decision not to allow proper debates to take place in the Lower House of Parliament was questionable.
"This is a briefing session and we MPs don't need this because this is not in line with the decree by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay rulers who called for a parliament session as soon as possible.
"This government took its own time and now it is trying to lie to the world that this briefing session is a parliament sitting.
"We need to debate about the people's daily struggles and sufferings.
"About 200 people are dying in a day now. Shall we wait for 1,000 deaths a day before we finally take it seriously and start looking for ways to address the current problems?" the Parti Pejuang Tanah Air chairman told the House today.
Dr Mahathir's view was echoed by Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal who questioned if the government was following the Federal Constitution in calling for today's special sitting.
"I want an explanation. Is this special sitting in line with the Agong's decree? Is this special sitting following our constitution?
"The proclamation of emergency must be debated in the House, the same goes to all the emergency ordinances. They must be debated," Shafie who is Semporna MP said.
In the verbal melee which engulfed the house between both sides of the aisle, Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal demanded Azhar's resignation, adding that opposition MPs would submit a motion for the speaker's removal should he refused to resign.
"Why are the proclamation of emergency and the ordinances are not debated? Are you a government lapdog Mr Speaker?
"Resign as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker. Are you getting instructions from the government to not bring up these matters to the House?
"If that is your agenda, resign now or we will submit a motion, perhaps for you to relinquish your seat," he said.
Parti Amanah Negara deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub claimed that Azhar had misled the House by rejecting the King's decree for the parliament to sit.
Upset with the allegation, Azhar demanded Salahuddin to prove he had misled the House.
Citing the UK House of Commons, the Speaker said the country is also practising the same approach of allowing the government to set the business for a special parliament sitting.
However, Salahuddin reminded Azhar that he was talking about the King's decree and how the speaker had refused to adhere to the ruler's decree.
"What kind of parliament is this? A parliament session must have debates. You have misled the House by rejecting the Agong's decree for parliament to sit," he said.
The special meeting of the Third Session of the 14th Parliament will be held from July 26 to 29 and on Aug 2.
All the 220 MPs, including those who have yet to be vaccinated, are allowed to attend the special sitting, which will be conducted in full adherence to the standard operating procedure to curb Covid-19, including requiring all attendees to pass swab tests and wear face masks.
There are 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat but two have been left vacant after their representatives died.