PETALING JAYA: The Dewan Rakyat meeting, which is supposed to be on Monday (March 9), has now been postponed to May 18, said Tan Sri Mohamad Arif Md Yusof.

The Dewan Rakyat Speaker said the first meeting of the third session of the 14th Parliament will sit for 15 days from May 18 to June 23.

"As the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, I find that the dates for the meetings are in line with Standing Order 11 (2).

"As such, the Dewan Rakyat Secretary Riduan Rahmat will follow up by issuing a notice for the meetings to all members of the House," said Mohamad Arif in a statement on Wednesday (March 4).

The opening of the first meeting will be done by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on May 18.

However, the Dewan Rakyat will not sit from May 26 to May 28 due to Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

There will also be a short break on June 1 and 2 due to Hari Gawai.

The Dewan Rakyat will also not have a sitting on June 8 as it falls on the King's birthday.

Mohamad Arif said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has also proposed the calendar for the entire year.

The second meeting of the Dewan Rakyat will be from July 27 to Aug 27. During that meeting, the 12th Malaysia Plan will be tabled on Aug 6.

Dewan Rakyat will not sit on July 30, Aug 19 and 20 to observe Hari Raya Qurban and Awal Muharam respectively.

The third and final meeting of the year will begin on Sept 28 to Nov 26.

This is often the longest meeting for every session as the country's budget will be tabled, debated and passed during this time.

Budget 2021 will be tabled by the Finance Minister on Friday, Oct 2 this year.

Dewan Rakyat will also take a one-day break on Oct 29 due to Maulidul Rasul.

Previously, the first meeting of Parliament in 2020 was scheduled to begin on March 9.

The upcoming Parliamentary meeting will be heavily watched, as Pakatan Harapan is expected to table a no-confidence vote against its former ally and newly appointed Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's sudden resignation as prime minister last week triggered a political crisis which eventually saw the Pakatan government being replaced by Perikatan Nasional, which consists of Barisan Nasional, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and PAS.