Parliamentary Session Opens On Monday, Spotlight On King’s Royal Address

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- The First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament will begin this Monday with the Royal Address of His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia at the opening ceremony of the meeting as the main focus.

His Majesty is scheduled to deliver the Royal Address to open both houses, the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara.

The gist of the Royal Address is expected to touch on various important matters including national development, the welfare of the people and economic matters in line with the commencement of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), the country's five-year development plan that begins this year until 2030.

The Opening Ceremony of the First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament will be broadcast live starting at 10 am via official media channels, local television and online platforms.

Before the Royal Address takes place at the Dewan Rakyat, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is scheduled to proceed to Parliament Square to inspect a Royal Guard of Honour from the 1st Battalion of Royal Malay Regiment, Sungai Besi Camp.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as well as both Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, the cabinet and heads of foreign delegations are also scheduled to attend the ceremony.

Based on the calendar on the official Parliament website, the 20-day session of Dewan Rakyat will see the tabling of the Motion of Thanks on the Royal Address, followed by a debate session on the motion for seven days starting Jan 20.

The Parliament session will then continue with a winding-up session by the relevant ministers in the third week of the session, starting Feb 4 to 10.

The calendar also lists the tabling of bills and other government business to take place on the last six days of the session starting on Feb 23.

According to the calendar, Parliament will not sit on Feb 2 and 3 due to the Federal Territories Day and Thaipusam Day celebrations, as well as from Feb 16 to 19 due to the Chinese New Year and early Ramadan celebrations that week.

The Dewan Negara session will continue for 13 days starting on Feb 23.

Meanwhile, the tabling of several new laws is expected to be the main agenda at this Dewan Rakyat session, including a bill to limit the Prime Minister's term of office to no more than 10 years or two full terms, as well as a bill relating to the separation of powers between the Public Prosecutor and the Attorney General.

The Prime Minister announced the matter on Jan 5, which he described as among the institutional reform measures implemented by the government in this year's parliamentary session.

Anwar said other bills include the Ombudsman Bill 2025 and the Freedom of Information Bill.

In addition, the focus will be on the second reading of the International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation Bill 2025 and the Urban Renewal Bill 2025 which were postponed in the previous session.

-- BERNAMA