adminPUTRAJAYA: Deputy Health Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib met with Wangsa Maju Member of Parliament Zahir Hassan and provided a detailed written answer to the third question for oral answers in the Dewan Rakyat, today.
The action follows the absence of a representative from the Ministry of Health (MOH) during the question-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
The Ministry of Health explained in a statement that Hanifah Hajar did not have time to enter the Dewan Rakyat when it was her turn to answer the third question following a sudden change in the meeting’s rules, in addition to being in the area outside the hall to hold a final discussion with ministry officials in preparation for answering the third question.
“However, the second question had to be postponed at the last minute due to the lateness of the Kepala Batas Member of Parliament (Dr Siti Mastura Muhammad) who was supposed to present the question.
“This delay caused the order of business to drastically skip straight to the third question. This sudden change in flow without any prior notification from the Secretary of the Dewan Rakyat was the main reason why the deputy minister did not have time to enter the House on time,” according to the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry of Health announced that Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad was also unable to be in the Dewan Rakyat due to official duties outside the constituency.
“Today, he witnessed the Handing Over of the Letter of Acceptance (SST) for the construction project of the Women and Children’s Block of the Melaka Hospital,” said the Ministry of Health, which also apologised for the technical difficulties.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Health always upholds the dignity of the institution of Parliament and respects the rights of all Members of Parliament.
According to the Dewan Rakyat Meeting Order, Zahir raised the question of whether the Ministry of Health plans to increase the capacity of primary health services, including the construction or upgrading of health clinics in Wangsa Maju, which is the highest-density parliamentary constituency in Malaysia, at 14,059 people per square kilometre.
— BERNAMA
