July 29, 2021, 05:53 PM
The Dewan Rakyat, or the lower house of Malaysia's Parliament, has stood witness to extraordinary scenes on July 29, with at least four adjournments.
The fourth came after the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mohd Rashid Hasnon, announced that two people in the building had tested positive for Covid-19.
Two positive cases
According to The Star, Rashid said that according to a letter from the Health Ministry, the first case was an officer attending to Parliament.
The second case, who was not described as an officer, had tested positive on July 29 after taking a saliva test.
Both cases had been present in "many locations" within Parliament. Rashid said:
"No one, including MPs, officers and staff, is allowed to leave Parliament until swab test results are out. Priority will be given to MPs."
All MPs have been told to do a Covid-19 test. I just did my covid test and passed.
— Wong Chen (@WongChen_MY) July 29, 2021
There are no signs yet of any of the ministers coming back to Parliament from the prime minister home.
What novel excuse will the speaker come up next at 5.15 pm? (9/n) pic.twitter.com/6mXw78GlFo
Statement from palace evokes strong reaction
Earlier during the session, adjournments were called after the leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, read out a statement from the palace, according to Malay Mail.
The statement said that the king had not given his royal assent to revoke the state of emergency in Malaysia.
This statement came after a minister of the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition, Takiyuddin Hassan, said that the government had already revoked the emergency ordinances on July 21.
Anwar alleged that Takiyuddin had misled the House.
Top image from Wong Chen Twitter and Urban Lites Facebook page.
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