KUALA LUMPUR: An online Parliament sitting, whether full or partial, is only possible if amendments are made to the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He was responding to his predecessor, Yeo Bee Yin, who had called on him to step up and offer technological solutions so that Parliament can conduct a virtual sitting.
"Amendments to the standing orders are discussed at the Standing Orders Committee.
"The chair of the committee is the Speaker (Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff). Of the six members of the committee, half are still with Pakatan Harapan.
"To my knowledge, a meeting of this committee has not been called to discuss amendments to the Standing Orders to allow for virtual parliamentary sittings.
"Perhaps my predecessor would like to ask the Speaker or any of her three PH colleagues – the honourable members from Segambut (Hannah Yeoh), Sungai Buloh (R Sivarasa) and Bayan Baru (Sim Tze Tzin) – why they have not done so," he said in a statement today.
The New Straits Times has contacted Hannah and Sivarasa but they have yet to respond.
Earlier, Yeo, who is the Bakri MP, in a statement asked why Khairy was "extraordinarily silent" on advocating the use of technology in holding a virtual parliamentary sitting in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
She also asked Khairy to look at the many technological solutions available to allow Parliament to "operate meaningfully – virtually, physically or a mix of both".
In her statement, Yeo also claimed that the government is using Covid-19 as an excuse to avoid proving its majority in Parliament, which Khairy rebutted.
"Parliament has already published the dates for this year's session.
"While the first meeting is indeed one day, the second meeting will be for 25 days (July 13 - Aug 27) and the third meeting, which will see the debate on the budget, will be 36 days (Sept 28 - Nov 26).
"That's 61 days for the government to prove our numbers and for the opposition to try to topple us," the Rembau MP said.
He also urged Ariff to call for the Standing Orders Committee to convene and consider the amendments needed for a virtual sitting.
He said even if Covid-19 cases are reduced, there is still a need to continue practicing social distancing until a vaccine is available.
"This may necessitate the second and third meetings of Parliament to be conducted in a hybrid manner as Westminster does.
"If we decide that this is the safe way for Parliament to convene, at least the procedures set forth in the Standing Orders would have been amended."
The Parliament will sit for the first time this year for one day on May 18 and is limited to the Royal Address.