POLITICS: KUALA LUMPUR- Malaysia Parliament to convene with Anwar’s return to politics, Pakatan Harapan’s 2019 Budget

Anwar Ibrahim waves after winning in a by-election in Port Dickson, on Oct 13, 2018.ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

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KUALA LUMPUR (BERNAMA) – The second sitting of Malaysia’s Parliament begins on Monday (Oct 15), ahead of the tabling of the 2019 Budget, the first national budget prepared by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government after winning the May 9 polls.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng will table the budget, which is scheduled for Nov 2.

Mr Lim had earlier said that the budget this time would be a difficult one for the federal government, while Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has hinted that it would be smaller than last year’s due to unfavourable economic conditions.

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In the last budget, the then Barisan Nasional government announced RM280.25 billion (S$93 billion) for operating and development expenditures.

Monday’s sitting will also see the return of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to the Dewan Rakyat, after winning the Port Dickson by-election by a huge majority on Saturday.

Mr Anwar is expected to be sworn in as the Port Dickson MP on Monday.

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He last spoke in the Dewan Rakyat as the Permatang Pauh MP. He was disqualified after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and five-year jail sentence in 2015.

Anwar was released on May 16 following a royal pardon by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, a week after PH took over Putrajaya.

The composition of seats in the Dewan Rakyat will also see a slight change as BN is left with only 51 seats after three Umno MPs quit the party. They included Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed of Jeli in Kelantan, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman of Kimanis in Sabah and Datuk Rozman Isli of Labuan in Sabah.

Mr Mustapa and Mr Anifah are now Independent MPs, while Mr Rozman has defected to Warisan.

The motion to abolish the Sedition Act 1948 and laws that prescribe mandatory death by hanging, are also topics expected to be debated.

It was previously reported that the Attorney-General Chamber’s was in the midst of preparing the papers concerning the motion to abolish the laws.