KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — The estimated operating expenditure nine ministries in the 2022 Budget was approved at the committee level during the Dewan Rakyat sitting this week.

It involved Energy and Natural Resources Ministry; Youth and Sports Ministry; Human Resource Ministry; Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Ministry; Transport Ministry; Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry; Rural Development Ministry; Federal Territories Ministry and Environment and Water Ministry.

The committee-level debate on the Supply Bill 2022 (Budget 2022) is scheduled until Dec 13. The bill was passed at the policy level on Nov 18 last year.

Meanwhile, issues on the increase in price of essential items remained the focus by members of the gouse at this week sitting.

Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (PH-Pulai), during the question and answer session, raised a motion n on the matter which was later discussed at the Special Chamber session on Thursday (Dec 2).

In another development, 25 positive cases of Covid-19 that were detected through periodic screening in Parliament on Monday (Nov 29) are most likely Delta variants.

However, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said there was no need to close the parliamentary session despite positive Covid-19 cases reported among MPs. — Bernama