DEWAN UNDANGAN NEGERI
KUCHING: Two Supplementary Supply Bills will be tabled at the one-day State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
The two government bills are Supplementary Supply (2019) Bill, 2020 and Supplementary Supply (2020) Bill, 2020.
DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar announced this at a press conference after attending a pre-DUN meeting chaired by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at the state legislative assembly complex here yesterday.
“The first, second and third readings of the two Supplementary Supply Bills will be read by Second Finance Minister (Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas),” he said.
Asfia said Article 33 (4) of the State Constitution reads, “The Legislature may, in respect of any financial year, by law authorise, before the passing of the Supply Ordinance, expenditure for part of the year and the issue from the Consolidated Fund of any moneys required to meet that expenditure.”
“The introduction of a Supplementary Supply Bill can be made under Standing Order 68 (1) which reads: ‘Under Article 33(4) of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak, a Bill may be introduced to authorise expenditure for part of a financial year. The motion on the second reading of the Bill shall be decided without amendment or debate’.
“Therefore, the Supplementary Supply Bill is legitimate within the purview and parameters of the State Constitution and within the ambit of the Standing Orders.
“I would like to emphatically and categorically state that unlike a Supply Bill, in the Supplementary Bill there is no debate at the second reading and committee stage,” he pointed out.
He reiterated that under Standing Orders 67(4) and 67(7), there shall be no debate allowed in the introduction and reading of the Supplementary Supply Bill.
“Standing Order 67 (4) states that on the order being read for the second reading of the Supplementary Supply Bill, the question thereon shall be put forthwith and decided without amendment or debate, whereupon a motion, if any, for a resolution on a Supplementary Development Estimates pursuant to section 4(3) of the Development Funds Act, 1966, shall, without notice, be moved by a Minister, to be referred to the Committee of Supply,” he said.
He pointed out that under Standing Order 67 (7), when all the questions on all heads of expenditure in both the Supplementary Supply Bills and the Supplementary Development Estimates have been disposed of and the Bill has been passed by the committee, the chairman shall, without allowing amendment or debate, put to the committee a question on the resolution of the Supplementary Development Estimates.
