PH assemblymen slam Negri Sembilan government over assembly sitting postponement

SEREMBAN: Pakatan Harapan assemblymen have criticised the state government for postponing the state assembly sitting, which was scheduled to begin today, without officially notifying them.

Nilai assemblyman J. Arul Kumar said they had not received any official notification of the postponement, as the sitting dates of Oct 16 to 22 were still listed on the official e-Dewan portal this morning.

He said the postponement had deprived elected representatives of the opportunity to seek explanations from the state government on various issues.

"We hope the state assembly sitting will be convened soon. There is no need to wait until the Budget sitting, as today's sitting is an ordinary session that should be held," he told reporters at Wisma Negeri here today.

The Negri Sembilan DAP chairman said all assemblymen had previously been asked to submit oral and written questions for the sitting, in addition to preparing to debate various issues affecting the people.

He said the state assembly was an important platform for elected representatives to obtain official information and explanations from the state government.

"We were elected as representatives to be the voice of the people and raise their concerns. If the sitting is not held, how are we supposed to raise these issues and seek explanations from the state government?" he said.

Arul added that the ordinary sitting scheduled for October should not be replaced by the Budget sitting, which is expected to take place on Nov 26.

"We are losing one state assembly sitting. Having two sittings would be better than one, as the Budget debate also has a time limit," he said.

He also hoped that issues concerning the state administration would be resolved soon to ensure the smooth running of government affairs and prevent the people's interests from being affected.

It was previously reported that Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim had said the state assembly sitting, originally scheduled for today, had been postponed to the end of next month to allow for the official opening and tabling of the state budget.