Orientation for New Members of Parliament

Members of the 12th Parliament had an orientation yesterday to familiarise themselves with the law-making proceedings in the Dewan Rakyat.

It was the first time that such an orientation has been held as nearly half of the MPs are first-timers.
All the 136 backbenchers and opposition MPs - the Cabinet members were not included - were briefed for over two hours about their rights and benefits as MPs.
The election results have created several firsts in the Dewan Rakyat. It will have:
* the largest number of first-time MPs - 99 or 45% of the total number of MPs
* the largest number of opposition members - 82 of the 222 MPs are from opposition parties.
* the first mother-and-daughter team of MPs - Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh) and Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Pantai Dalam).
* the first woman Opposition Leader - Wan Azizah
Speaking to reporters after the briefing, Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib advised the MPs to be more polite when taking part in the debates .

"They should avoid making sexist remarks or use words that hurt the feeling of others," he said.
Wan Azizah, when met after the briefing, said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will have its first secretariat meeting on Monday (April 7).

It would discuss, among others, the coalition's candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker. She, however, declined to name the candidates.
How much an MP gets
Salary: RM6,508 (tax-free)
Other perks:
RM1,200 monthly driver's fee
RM5,000 computer allowance per term
RM1,500 handphone allowance every three years
RM900 monthly phone bill allowance
RM300 daily meeting allowance (RM100 for food and other expenses)
RM 1,500 monthly entertainment allowance

Pix 1 : Mother and daughter team - First woman Opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar at Parliament.

Pix 2 : Tian Chua and Khairy Jamaluddin attend parliament briefing.

Excerpted : SUN