KUALA LUMPUR – Marang MP Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has furnished a letter and a medical certificate to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul yesterday to explain his absence from Parliament today.
Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman has told the media that Hadi is unfit for work as he is still recovering from poor health.
Hadi, who is PAS president, is resting in Terengganu and has to go for several follow-up medical treatments.
Earlier, Scoop reported that Hadi was absent during the opening of the 15th Parliament session today.
During the royal address by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, Hadi’s seat in the opposition front bench was left empty.
Checks found that Hadi’s most recent social media post was made at 9.56am today on the International Court of Justice and Israel’s siege on Gaza.
This led netizens to question Hadi’s absence at Parliament today, with some labelling the no-show as rude and disrespectful to the King.
In 2022, Hadi defended his low attendance at the lower House by saying that it could not be equated with students attending school due to differences in systems and processes.
He said most people did not understand the roles that MPs play, and at the time, he was the special envoy to the Middle East, which had limited his time at Parliament.
Hadi was also recently reported to be in poor health. The 76-year-old underwent treatment at the National Heart Institute here and was later discharged.
In 2022, the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights’ MyMP initiative had a “B15” list where Hadi was ranked fifth for the worst Parliament attendance, with 26 appearances.
At the top was Perikatan Nasional chairman and Pagoh MP Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, followed by fellow Bersatu member Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (Larut), then Kepala Batas MP Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and then Miri MP Dr Michael Teo. – February 26, 2024