PM Anwar Attends Pre-Session Briefing Ahead of New Dewan Rakyat Sitting

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 18: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday attended a pre-session briefing with Members of Parliament from the Unity Government ahead of the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting.

The briefing was held at the Seri Perdana Complex here and was attended by Cabinet ministers, government MPs, and senior officials, many of whom arrived as early as 1.30pm.

Among the ministers present were Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr. Zulkifli Hasan; Health Minister Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad; Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi; and Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.

The First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament is scheduled to begin on Sunday with the official opening ceremony and royal address by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim.

According to Parliament’s official calendar, the Dewan Rakyat sitting will span 20 days. In addition to the tabling of the motion of thanks and debate on the Royal Address, Members of Parliament will take part in a seven-day debate on the motion beginning Jan 20.

The sitting will then proceed to the ministers’ question-and-answer sessions in the third week, scheduled from Feb 4 to Feb 10.

From Feb 11 to March 3, the Dewan Rakyat will focus on the tabling of bills and other government business.

Several new bills are expected to be introduced during this session, including legislation to limit the prime minister’s term of office to a maximum of 10 years or two full terms, as well as a bill to separate the powers of the public prosecutor from those of the attorney general.

Prime Minister Anwar had announced these initiatives on Jan 5, describing them as key institutional reform measures to be pursued during this year’s parliamentary session. Other proposed bills include the Ombudsman Bill 2025 and legislation related to the Freedom of Information Act.