Only 44 lawmakers attended the special sitting of the Sabah state assembly today. (Bernama pic)
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah state assembly speaker Kadzim Yahya says the change in seating for the majority of Umno assemblymen during the special sitting today was temporary.
Kadzim said the seating arrangement was changed to help the special sitting proceed more smoothly.
He said the seating arrangement will be finalised once a decision is announced on the reshuffling of the state Cabinet.
“We needed to arrange the seats for the special sitting today, as we couldn’t just let the hall look empty.
Kadzim M Yahya. (Information Dept pic)
“That is all I can say, because I don’t make the decision on whether they stay (in the government bloc) or not as it is the prerogative of the chief minister and not the Speaker,” he told reporters.
The state assembly saw changes in its seating arrangement with BN assemblymen placed in the opposition bloc, including Bung Moktar Radin, who remains a deputy chief minister.
The Umno elected representatives joined Warisan and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) in the opposition, but none of them were present for the special sitting.
Prior to the sitting, Bung and Warisan president Shafie Apdal had said their assemblymen would not be attending.
Meanwhile, Kadzim said only 44 assemblymen attended the special sitting, adding that this was the lowest attendance the legislative assembly had seen in the past two years.
The Gas Supply Bill 2023 and the Energy Commission Bill 2023 was tabled and unanimously passed at the special sitting.
