Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) 11 assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan have criticised the state government for postponing today’s state assembly sitting without officially notifying them.
State opposition leader J Arul Kumar said the assembly was scheduled to sit from today until Oct 22, with the session to be opened by the Yang Dipertuan Besar before assemblymen took their oaths of office.
Speaking at a press conference outside Wisma Negeri in Seremban, Arul said they had heard Menteri Besar Ismail Lasim announce the postponement at a press conference last week.
However, the Negeri Sembilan DAP chief said they had not received formal notification, either in writing or through the state government’s e-Dewan online portal, leaving them uncertain about whether the postponement had been officially confirmed.
PH reps question lack of official notification
‘You can’t just announce this at a press conference. Assemblymen must be officially notified. That’s why we’re here today: we were not informed that the sitting has been postponed,’ Arul said.
He said 76 days had passed since the new state government was formed, adding that the state assembly was an important platform for elected representatives to raise public concerns and debate policies.
‘As assemblymen, the legislature is where we raise the people’s issues and discuss policies. When there are no sittings, we lose our platform to represent our voters,’ said the four-term Nilai assemblyman.
Arul questions absence of state executive council
Arul questioned whether the sitting had been postponed because Ismail did not have an executive council (exco), following the ruler’s revocation of the exco members’ appointments last month.
He said the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional administration had 25 assemblymen, including the menteri besar, and could appoint a new exco.
‘When you have exco members, the running of the government is smoother and more orderly. They can help the menteri besar govern. But now it’s just him, it’s a one-man show,’ he said.
Arul also questioned how Ismail could respond to questions from all 35 assemblymen without an exco to assist him.
‘How can one person do the job of 10 others, too? And if the state assembly sat today, he would be alone. Can he answer questions from 35 assemblymen?’ he said.
‘Maybe that’s why he postponed sitting. The menteri besar can’t be the only one responding to questions from morning to evening.’
Budget tabling cited as reason for postponement
Last week, Ismail said the state assembly sitting scheduled for Oct 16 had been postponed until the end of November to coincide with the tabling of the state budget.
However, Arul said the budget was supposed to be tabled at a separate sitting.
He added that postponing the scheduled one-week session meant assemblymen had lost another opportunity to raise questions and address issues affecting the people.
