KUALA LUMPUR: The special Dewan Rakyat sitting on Monday has been postponed following Covid-19 cases being reported in Parliament on Thursday.
Dewan Rakyat secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin in a circular to members of Parliament today informed them that the meeting on Aug 2 had been postponed to an undetermined date, in line with Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 11(3).
"This postponement is in line with the suggestion by the Health director-general and the risk assessment made by the Health Ministry, who are of the opinion that the Malaysian Parliament is a locality at-risk for the spread of Covid-19.
"Therefore, I have been directed by Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon to notify MPs that the Dewan Rakyat would not sit on Aug 2, 2021", he said in a statement.
The special Parliament sitting was supposed to be held for five days from July 26 to 29 and Aug 2, while the Senate or Dewan Negara was to sit for three days starting Aug 3.
The special sitting of the lower house of Parliament was aimed at briefing all MPs about the National Recovery Plan (NRP), and to amend all legislation and rules to enable the Parliament sitting to be held in a hybrid manner.
11 positive Covid-19 cases were detected following a mass screening in Parliament on Thursday, after health authorities announced that two Covid-19 cases had been detected in Parliament.
The first case was a staff member who entered Parliament from July 26 to 28, and was found positive on Thursday after displaying cough and flu symptoms.
The second case was detected after an individual, who had displayed cough symptoms, tested positive using an RTK-Antigen saliva self-test kit.
It was reported that over 95 per cent of Parliamentarians had been vaccinated against Covid-19, a majority of whom had received both inoculation doses.