SHAH ALAM: Selangor has become the first state to approve amendments to the standing orders to allow hybrid implementation of the state legislative assembly sessions.

With this amendment, the Menteri Besar can apply to the Speaker to hold an online meeting online during an emergency or unforeseen circumstances.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said the Parliament will use the guidelines from the Selangor state legislative assembly to implement the same.

"(A  hybrid session is) a special session in a state of emergency ..a situation where we cannot meet physically. but the Selangor State Assembly has taken the lead by amending the standing order to allow the session to take place without the state assemblymen physically present in the hall.

"This has been followed by how the law or enactment can be implemented and is 'legal' even though (the assemblyman) is not physically sitting by amending some of the meeting rules, this allows the conference to take place.

"We will learn from Selangor, we already have a draft but we will use these guidelines to strengthen our standing orders so that we can ratify some of the problems we are going through," he said.

He said this in a press conference after a working visit to the Selangor state legislative assembly today.

Also present were Selangor Speaker Lau Weng San and Deputy Speaker Mohd Kamri Kamaruddin.

Johari said that when the Covid-19 pandemic hit,  the Malaysian Parliament and all state assemblies across the country were unable to convene.

"We have been through the same thing in Parliament before when Covid-19 struck...we couldn't meet and at that time no one had expected to be struck by a pandemic.

"But now we have gone through the process and Selangor is ahead of other states and even the Parliament is lagging compared to Selangor.

"Some other states have also come forward and we will collect all this (information and guidelines) and God willing we will check to see how we can implement it," he said.

On Aug 30, the Selangor state assembly passed a motion to amend the standing order to allow state assembly meetings to be held in a hybrid manner.

The motion was brought by Datuk Teng Chang Khim (PH-Bandar Baru Klang) in which he explained that DUN meetings can be held online, in whole or in part at the request of the Menteri Besar on the grounds of an emergency, pandemic or unforeseen emergency.

The motion allows committee meetings to be held online in whole or in part after the Speaker receives confirmation from the Menteri Besar that the state of Selangor is in a state of emergency, pandemic or extremely harmful contingency where personal presence should not be held.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/1094685/selangor-state-assembly-approves-amendments- hold-hybrid-online-sessions