PH reps slam Negeri Sembilan govt over postponed legislature sitting

State opposition leader J Arul Kumar (centre) with the 10 other PH assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan outside the Wisma Negeri building in Seremban. (DAP pic) PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) 11 assemblymen in Negeri Sembilan have slammed the state government for postponing today’s state assembly sitting without notifying them through official channels.

State opposition leader J Arul Kumar said the state assembly was supposed to convene today until Oct 22, with the meeting opened by the Yang Dipertuan Besar and assemblymen taking their oaths of office.

At a press conference outside the Wisma Negeri building in Seremban, Arul said they heard menteri besar Ismail Lasim announcing the postponement of the sitting at a press conference last week.

However, the Negeri Sembilan DAP chief said they were uncertain if this was confirmed as they were not formally informed of the postponement, whether in writing or through the state government’s e-Dewan online portal.

"You can’t just announce this at a press conference. Assemblymen must be officially notified. That’s why we’re here today: we were not informed that the sitting has been postponed.

"It’s been 76 days (since the new state government was formed). As assemblymen, the legislature is where we raise the people’s issues and discuss policies. When there are no sittings, we lose our platform to represent our voters," said Arul.

The four-term Nilai assemblyman asked if the state assembly session was put off because Ismail did not have an executive council, following the revocation of their appointments by the ruler last month.

Even so, Arul said that the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional administration had 25 assemblymen in total, including the menteri besar, and that a new exco could easily be appointed.

"When you have exco members, the running of the government is smoother and more orderly. They can help the menteri besar govern. But now it’s just him, it’s a one-man show.

"How can one person do the job of 10 others, too? And if the state assembly sat today, he would be alone. Can he answer questions from 35 assemblymen?

"Maybe that’s why he postponed sitting. The menteri besar can’t be the only one responding to questions from morning to evening," said Arul.

Last week, Ismail said the state assembly sitting scheduled for Oct 16 had been postponed to the end of November to coincide with the tabling of the budget.

However, Arul said the state budget was supposed to be tabled at a separate sitting, and that the lack of the one-week session meant one less session to address various questions and issues.