KUALA LUMPUR – PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said his recent move to file a suit against the prime minister and government over the emergency proclamation is not an act of “derhaka” (treason) towards the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The opposition leader said chatter that he has committed treason against the king is merely a political ploy.
“We know of speeches by past ministers that are far more severe in attacking royals.
“We are opposing only the decision of the prime minister, and not touching the position and honour of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he said during a live-streaming session on his Facebook page tonight.
Anwar, who is also Port Dickson MP, held the session to comment on the state of foreign investments and unemployment in the country – hot issues to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.
He noted that Malaysia is among the worst-hit Southeast Asian countries by outflow of foreign investments last year. Foreign investments dropped by 68%, or US$2.6 billion (RM10.5 billion), while unemployment exceeded 700,000 by January this year.
He accused the government of not painting an accurate picture of the current state of the economy, and misleading the people on its performance.
He said current unemployment figures provided by the Statistics Department show that the government has “no clear policy”.
“The only clear policy is the government asking: ‘Give us more power. We will solve it (pandemic)’. The power has been given. The power that they grabbed is theirs, so they should do what is effective.
“It is not about being in power and adding more power. That is why they made the decision to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare an emergency.
“That is why I made the decision, in my capacity as opposition leader, to file a suit against the prime minister and government.
“Even though it (the emergency) was declared by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, we are saying that the prime minister is not carrying out his responsibilities truthfully.”
Yesterday, Anwar’s lawyer Ramkarpal Singh said an application for leave for a judicial review was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday.
Anwar had filed the suit in his capacity as opposition leader in Parliament. He is seeking a court declaration that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had given unlawful advice to the king to suspend Parliament while the country is under emergency rule.
The opposition leader said the suit is necessary as Muhyiddin had lost his majority in Parliament and should have advised the king on the actual situation.
“Secondly, when it comes to resolving Covid-19, all of us in the opposition and other parties have agreed to all (government proposals).
“We agreed to assistance for frontliners, allocations for hospitals and add more power for movement restrictions.”
Anwar said statements about his suit are being made as though to defend the monarch, but are just attempts to drag the royal institution into the political fray.
“In filing the court case, I am avoiding from touching the position of the king. I am only saying that the prime minister should have provided proper advice (to the king) based on provisions of the law and constitution.”
He added that the suit also maintains that Parliament can still proceed during an emergency.
“Which country declares an emergency that leads to a suspension of government?” – The Vibes, January 27, 2021
