KUCHING: Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How does not think that the one-day State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting this Aug 17 has anything to do with any snap election.
According to the state PKR vice-chairman, every DUN sitting would be adjourned ‘sine die’ – meaning that it has no appointed date for resumption.
“So, the DUN can be dissolved and the state election be called at any time, without having any DUN sitting,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
See was asked on whether the Aug 17 sitting had anything to do with the possibility of a snap election being called. The current term of the DUN expires on June 20 next year.
“It is required under the Sarawak State Constitution that if there were to be a DUN sitting, it must be held within six months from the last sitting.
“As our last sitting was in April, with Sarawak DUN usually holding its budget session in November (after the presentation of federal budget in Parliament late October), it is outside of the six-month period.
“Hence, there has to be a session (whether long or short) in between, to bridge the six months.”
Still on the matter, See said the April sitting had given him much hope that the present Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem was determined in initiating a DUN reform so that it could make constructive and effectual recommendations on how to improve governance, and one of the ways was to have more sittings every year.
“I’m, therefore, hugely disappointed that the additional DUN sitting for this year is only for one day.”
He said although it was not uncommon for any legislative assembly to have a one-day session, it should be held to deliberate on urgent, specific and important issues affecting the whole state or country.
“For example, the impeachment of the sitting chief minister as we had in the 1960s, or to address a national disaster such as the emergency parliamentary meeting to debate a motion to condemn the missile attack that allegedly brought down MAS (Malaysia Airlines) flight MH17 in July 2014.”
With regard to the Aug 17 sitting, See said the assemblymen had not been notified of any urgent, specific and important issue warranting this one-day session.
“I certainly hope that the chief minister would not waver on his earlier good intention of bringing institutional changes to improve the functions and governance of the state administration.”
See said as the key arm of the government, the assembly would need to hold sittings more regularly to address issues affecting the state and Sarawakians.
“I therefore urge the chief minister and the State Legislative Assembly Speaker (Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar) to reconsider their decision on this one-day sitting, to lengthen the sitting and hence, to allow members to present questions, motions as well as to debate on issues affecting their constituencies in the coming DUN sitting.”