The virtual “assembly” came a week after the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, called for a discussion chaired by the menteri besar and joined by all elected representatives to address the situation.
Bukit Batu assemblyman Jimmy Puah said Pakatan Harapan (PH) proposed for mass screenings to be conducted in Johor, and urged the state government to get all assemblymen involved in this effort, including those in the opposition.
He told FMT they also proposed for more vaccination centres to be set up in the state and for Parliament and the state assembly to be allowed to reconvene to give them a proper platform to discuss these issues.
“The meeting has already gone on for two-and-a-half hours, but many still want to give their opinions,” the Johor PKR deputy chief said.
Meanwhile, Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan said he proposed a total lockdown for two to three weeks to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases and for cash aid to be channelled to those affected, especially B40 families.
Ahmad said he also called on the state government to buy its own vaccines, set up automatic registration for the immunisation programme through data from the National Registration Department and impose a moratorium on loans and rent for the B40 and M40 groups.
In a Twitter post, the Umno secretary-general said he also called for mass screenings and for Parliament and the state assembly to reconvene.
“If the state assembly and Parliament are opened, it would be much better – if not for all issues, at least just for Covid-19. That is sufficient despite the emergency,” he said.
He also called for a list of daily cases by localities to keep Johoreans informed, for home-learning gadgets to be given to children in the B40 group and for a vaccine research and development centre to be set up at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Last week, Sultan Ibrahim voiced concern over the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Johor and said the state government, MPs and assemblymen all had a role to play in addressing the issue.
He said that although Parliament and the state assembly could not sit during the emergency, the elected representatives need to be roped in to help address the situation.
However, not every elected representative attended the meeting, with Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman saying he did not receive any invitation or information on the discussion chaired by the menteri besar.
The MUDA founder said this was unfortunate as he could not perform his duties for the people of Muar. He said he could have made it for the meeting despite being called to the Dang Wangi police station over a tweet.
Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik also failed to join the discussion, taking to Twitter to express his frustration. He claimed that the menteri besar’s office did not allow him to “enter” the virtual meeting room.
The former education minister said he was told he could not join the meeting because the menteri besar had already given his speech.
“This is weird and unreasonable. I joined the link at around 9.45am, the meeting was scheduled to start at 10am. Did the MB give a speech earlier?
“This should not have happened and it reflects the disorder in the meeting’s secretariat. As an MP that is representing the people under my constituency, my attendance at this meeting is important to (air the views of) the people I am representing.”
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