KUALA LUMPUR – The Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council has rejected a suggestion by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the formation of a National Operations Council (Mageran) to take over the reins of government.
In a statement today, the coalition’s leadership said it is intent on abiding by the principles of parliamentary democracy.
It said that it stands firm on the call for the current state of emergency to be abrogated and Parliament to be reconvened.
The statement was jointly signed by parliamentary opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as PKR president, Lim Guan Eng as DAP secretary-general and Mohamad Sabu as Amanah president.
“The presidential council takes note of Dr Mahathir’s proposal to establish a National Operations Council to resolve the problems faced by the nation at this time, especially in relation to Covid-19,” the statement read.
“However, as a party that complies with parliamentary democracy, Pakatan Harapan rejects the proposal for an NOC based on our consistent stand that the emergency needs to be ended immediately and Parliament needs to open again now.
“The solution to the people’s problem on the issues of Covid-19, the economy, and also politics needs a well-running functioning democracy, and the best space to hear the voice of the people as well as gain solutions is in Parliament,” it added.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir, who is Pejuang chairman, told an online press conference that he had mooted the setting up of Mageran during his audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
He reasoned that the move is necessary to help resolve the present administration’s instability.
He cited former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein’s successful manoeuvring the country back to firmer ground following the May 13, 1969 racial riots with the inception of Mageran then.
The 95-year-old Langkawi MP also said that, although the matter of who should lead the government under Mageran was not discussed with the king, he is willing to offer his services to the government again but expressed doubt that it would be taken up.
Earlier yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s principal private secretary, Datuk Marzuki Mohamad, had said the idea of Mageran is a step backwards and may impede the government’s plans and efforts by civil servants, frontliners, industry players and the rakyat to get the country past the Covid-19 and economic crises.
Malaysia has a functioning cabinet to deal with the health emergency, which is not a security emergency, he had said. – The Vibes, June 11, 2021
