JOHOR BARU: Johor assemblymen have welcomed the decision made by state Speaker Suhaizan Kaiat to postpone the fourth session of the Johor state assembly meeting following a positive Covid-19 case within the august House.

       Sri Medan assemblyman Datuk Zulkurnain Kamisan, who is also Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad’s political secretary, said the postponement would help ensure safety of not only his fellow assemblymen but also those attending the meeting held at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar.

       “Even with all the precautionary steps as recommended by the National Security Council that have been taken by the government to ensure the smooth running of the state assembly meeting, Covid-19 can still happen.

       “However, I do believe that the meeting can still be held early next month with improved standard operating procedures,” he said when contacted here on Tuesday (Aug 24).

       Permas assemblyman Datuk Seri Che Zakaria Mohd Salleh of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia said prior to the meeting, he had once called for the state assembly meeting to be postponed to a later date due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.

       “Following the postponement, I do hope that sanitation works can be carried out inside the august House as a precautionary measure against Covid-19,” he added.

       Kota Iskandar assemblyman Dzulkefly Ahmad, who is the state Parti Amanah Negara deputy chief, said the postponement would not disrupt the duties of the assemblymen.

       He added that as Opposition assemblymen were not invited to be part of the district development committee, the state assembly was the only platform available to them to voice out issues affecting the rakyat.

       “Due to Covid-19, the debate session for assemblymen has been cut down to 10 minutes from the previous 20 minutes but the majority of us have been able to voice out many issues.

       “Hopefully, the fourth session of the Johor state assembly meeting can be continued as we only have two more days left,” he added.

       Bekok assemblyman Dr S. Ramakrishnan said it was a good move by Suhaizan in calling for the state assembly meeting to be postponed again.

       “The Covid-19 positive case involved several officers at the state assembly and without them, the meeting cannot be held as they are responsible in making sure the meeting can run smoothly,” he added.

       The fourth session of the Johor state assembly meeting was postponed for the second time after a Covid-19 positive case was recorded in the august House.

       The meeting, which was supposed to be held on Tuesday (Aug 24) and Wednesday (25), has been pushed forward to Sept 6 and Sept 7 instead.

       State Speaker Suhaizan Kaiat said the postponement was made under Standing Order 7 (3) of the State of Johor Regulations and Standing Orders.

       “Based on the risk assessment that has been done, the Johor Health Department recommended that the meeting be postponed following the latest developments on Covid-19 during the meeting.

       “All assemblymen have been informed of the postponement because we do not want to take any risk,” he said when contacted here on Monday (Aug 23) night.

       It is learnt that one of the staff at the Johor state assembly tested positive for Covid-19.

       On Sunday (Aug 22), four assemblymen were barred from the state assembly due to Covid-19 health concerns.

       Tenggaroh assemblyman K. Raven Kumar of MIC tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, while Tangkak’s Ee Chin Li (DAP) was identified through contact tracing.

       The other two assemblymen are Johor Lama’s Rosleli Jahari (Bersatu) and Senai’s Tee Boon Tsong (DAP).

       Tee showed symptoms as he was coughing while Rosleli tested positive through an RTK-Antigen test at Bangunan Sultan Ismail but the latter tested negative during a second test at Hospital Sultanah Aminah.

       The fourth session of the Johor state assembly, which was officiated by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar on Aug 12, had to be postponed to Sunday (Aug 22) to review the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Covid-19.

       Among the measures included having a travel bubble for all 56 assemblymen and making compulsory to all attending the meeting including members of the media to undergo daily RTK tests before the meeting starts.