KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The inaugural royal address by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, in Parliament for the opening of the First Meeting of the Third Session of the 15th Parliament this Monday (Feb 26) will be much awaited.

It will be broadcast live at 10 am through official broadcasts and online platforms.

The opening ceremony will begin with the arrival of His Majesty and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah Queen of Malaysia at Parliament Square where Sultan Ibrahim will then inspect a guard of honour.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his two deputies, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, other cabinet members and the head of foreign delegations are also scheduled to attend the ceremony.

Based on the calendar on the Parliament’s official website, this Parliament sitting will last for 19 days with the main focus to be the debate on the royal address by Members of Parliament from Feb 27 to March 7 and then the winding-up by the relevant ministries for four days starting March 11

The Dewan Rakyat sitting will then continue with the tabling of several bills including the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Bill 355) and a bill to realise the establishment of a single national border agency (SBA).

The establishment of SBA as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when tabling Budget 2024 on Oct 13 last year was part of the initiative to strengthen the level of national defence and security preparedness.

The first week of the Dewan Rakyat sitting is also expected to involve proceedings regarding the management of the implementation of the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) project by the National Accounts Committee (PAC).

The sitting of the Dewan Rakyat was on Nov 30 last year. — Bernama