KUALA LUMPUR — The third meeting of the third term of the 15th Parliament was adjourned today after sitting for 35 days starting Oct 14, which saw 26 bills passed and three substantive motions.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said the sitting also saw the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Special Select Committee (JKPK) making clarifications amounting to seven explanations each for the statements that had been tabled.

He said two new initiatives would be implemented at the First Meeting next year in an effort to adopt a paperless policy and be a continuation of the green initiatives currently being implemented in the Malaysian Parliament environment.

“First, a written reply from the ministry to the Honourable Members will be given directly via email. Secondly, the Standing Orders paper only involves the First Part, which is the Minister’s Question Time and Questions involving versal answers.

“The complete Standing Orders involving the Minister’s Question Times and Questions for Oral Answers and the list of bills and motions as well as the papers given physically before will be uploaded to the e-risalat on the laptops of the Honourable Members as well as on the website of the Parliament of Malaysia,” he said in his adjournment speech in Dewan Rakyat today.

In the meantime, Johari called on all MPs to be determined to mobilise efforts to preserve sovereignty, stability and common prosperity by fully supporting Malaysia’s chairmanship of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) 2025.

“Under the legislative pillar, the Parliament of Malaysia will be the President of AIPA which is a platform to strengthen the continuity of cooperation between the legislative bodies of ASEAN member states and also serve as a forum to discuss important issues such as geopolitical stability, food security, digital innovation and renewable energy.

“The space and opportunities available enable the Malaysian Parliament to strengthen the relationship of Parliamentary Diplomacy through the sharing of knowledge, experience and best practices as well as finding solutions together in addressing regional and global challenges,” he said.

In his postponement speech, Johari also took the opportunity to congratulate all MPs who have carried out health checks.

“The health checks are very helpful in detecting the health level of the Honorable Members at an early stage and subsequently enabling immediate preventive measures to be taken and to be able to carry out their duties effectively,” he said. —BERNAMA