Speaker admonishes tardy ministers for missing questions in Parliament

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul has reprimanded ministers for missing their allotted questions in Parliament due to tardiness. The Speaker advised ministry officials, particularly secretaries-general, to remind ministerial officers to regularly check with the Dewan Rakyat secretariat for any changes in the question sequence. Johari emphasized that arriving early for sittings is crucial to prevent missing questions, as it reflects poorly on the House.

He noted that certain questions could not be answered during a recent sitting because the relevant parties were absent, and in some cases, the ministers themselves were not present when their turn came. Johari requested the ministry officials to advise ministerial officers to be punctual, as sometimes their turns are postponed due to changes in the question sequence, such as alterations in names or question numbers.

He stressed that all parties must contribute to improving the behavior at Dewan Rakyat sittings, especially now that the institution has administrative autonomy. Opposition MPs had previously criticized the absence of the health minister, Dzulkefly Ahmad, and his deputy, Hanifah Hajar Taib, during the Minister's Question Time. Their absence became evident when Deputy Speaker Alice Lau called on Zahir Hassan to ask the third question listed for the health ministry, which was also skipped as Siti Mastura Muhammad (PN-Kepala Batas) was absent.