This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 3, 2020 - March 9, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: The question of whether the Dewan Rakyat sitting which is scheduled to start on March 9, will proceed or be postponed, remains unanswered, as the Speaker said he had not received any reply from the newly appointed prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“I'm still waiting for the reply; that’s about it,” Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said when stormed by the media at a book launching at the Parliament building last night.

He refrained from answering any further questions and left immediately after the conclusion of the event.

Mohamad Ariff earlier launched the book entitled Malaysian Parliamentary Procedure: A Guide to The Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat written by Monique Smith and Maha Balakrishnan.

The guide was produced by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs at his request as the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.

The guide is a thematic summary of the main Standing Orders of the House and is intended to assist members of the house in the proper application of house rules and procedures, as they fulfil their legislative and oversight duties.

Bernama reported on Sunday that Mohamad Ariff said he would be communicating with Muhyiddin yesterday on whether the Dewan Rakyat would proceed with its first session this year on March 9. He said he would be writing an official letter to the prime minister on the matter.