Parliament: Haze forces King to inspect guard-of-honour in banquet hall

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Queen Tuanku Haminah arriving at the opening of 13th Parliament session in Kuala Lumpur.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: For the first time in Malaysian history, the opening ceremony of the Parliament was held indoors due to the haze.

The customary inspection of the guard-of-honour was held at the banquet hall of the Parliament building.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah was greeted by Cabinet members before heading off to the Dewan Rakyat to open the first meeting of the first session of the13th Parliament which will go on until July 18.

In his opening speech, the King reminded all Members of Parliament (MPs) to remain loyal to the country and not to attempt activities that may destroy the country.

Parliament: King urges all Malaysians to accept GE13 results

The King reiterated his call for all parties to accept and respect the results of the general election.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The King has reiterated his call for all parties to accept and respect the results of the 13th general election.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah said the election was conducted in accordance to the democratic system and it was now time to work together so that the country could move forward to achieve high income status by 2020.

"I am grateful that the 13th general election was held in a peaceful environment. I appreciate the role of all those responsible especially the Election Commission, security forces in ensuring the general election could be held smoothly," he said.

The King also conveyed his appreciation to the people who had exercised their voting right and had fulfilled their duties to choose a Government to administer the country.

EC to be placed under Parliament - Najib

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced that a special committee will be set up to oversee the Election Commission (EC).

According to Bernama today, Najib said the move was to "strengthen the EC's authority and credibility".

To those ends, it reported that "the government will set up a special committee comprising members of parliament from the Barisan Nasional and the opposition to oversee the commission".

"With this step, it is hoped that the independence of the EC will no longer be questioned and the people's confidence toward the EC will be strengthened," Bernama today quoted the PM saying.

He said this during his congratulatory speech to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah on the latter's birthday and investiture ceremony involving the presentation of awards and medals at Istana Negara today.

Parliament may convene by next month

PETALING JAYA: The 13th Parliament will most likely convene its first session by June, before the fasting month of Ramadan in July, said caretaker Minister in the Prime Minister's department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

However, he said, it was still uncertain when the swearing-in ceremony for newly minted Members of Parliament (MPs) will take place as the Cabinet had yet to be formed.

“After the Cabinet is formed, only then will we have the swearing-in of MPs. The King's address will also normally be delivered after the ceremony,” he said yesterday.

Nazri, who is Padang Rengas MP, said the Parliament has already missed a chance to have a meeting in March and hence, the new session should start soon.