PCG Review, AI Development Among Highlights Of Parliament Sitting Today

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- The need to review the unchanged per capita grant (PCG) rate since 2002, and progress achieved by the National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO), are among the highlights of today’s Dewan Rakyat sitting.

According to the Order Paper on the Parliament portal, during the oral question session, Mordi Bimol (PH-Mas Gading) will ask the Education Minister whether the ministry will review the PCG rate, as the current rate is insufficient to cover school operational costs and teaching and learning (PdP) programmes, especially in rural areas.

In the same session, Datuk Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu) will ask the Digital Minister about NAIO’s contributions to AI development and how the ministry will collaborate with other ministries to ensure effective cross-sectoral coordination in AI development and applications.

Datuk Muslimin Yahaya (PN-Sungai Besar) will pose a question to the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives on the main rationale behind drafting a new Bill to replace the Cooperative Societies Act 1993 (Act 502), and how the Bill will address current challenges and needs of Malaysia’s cooperative movement.

Also listed is a question from S. Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput) to the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister on the status of the Local R&D Products and Services Utilisation Programme (MySTI) and the ministry's efforts to increase visibility of products or services bearing the MySTI logo.

After the session, the Dewan Rakyat will resume the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which began last Monday, with 78 Members of Parliament having participated so far.

RMK13, themed “Redesigning Development,” was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on July 31, with RM611 billion in government investment required to drive national development from 2026 to 2030.

The current Dewan Rakyat session runs for 24 days until Aug 28.

-- BERNAMA