Hamzah slams unfair labelling during sick leave: 'I'm not absent, I'm healing!'"

KUALA LUMPUR - It is unfair to simply regard an MP as being absent from Dewan Rakyat sitting when they have already submitted their medical certificates (MC), refutes Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

In a Fireside Chat interview with Sinar Daily, the Opposition Leader said that the he had already informed the Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Seri Johari Abdul about him being medically unfit to attend the recently adjourned parliamentary session.

Hamzah explained that his doctor has advised him not to go to the Parliament as he was still recuperating from the surgery on his left eye which was suffering from retinal detachment.

"I have already told the Speaker that this must change. They cannot just put me as absent, that is unfair not only to me but many others," he reasoned.

Apart from regular parliamentary debates, Hamzah was also unable to attend every single Prime Minister's Question Time (PMQT) sessions that took place between February 13 and April 4.

Besides him, two other prominent PN MPs have also been reguarly absent in the Dewan Rakyat. They were: PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (Bersatu-Paguh) and Pas president Tan Sri Hadi Awang (Marang).

Their frequent absenteeism garnered much notoriety, so much so that critics have nicknamed them as the 'invisible trio' in the Dewan Rakyat.