KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has issued an ultimatum: Perikatan Nasional has 14 days to reconvene Parliament, or his party will call a Supreme Council meeting to discuss its next step.
In a statement today, he said Umno fully supports the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Conference of Rulers’ decrees on a parliamentary sitting.
The government’s failure to heed the decree is considered a form of rebellion and disrespect to the institution of the Malay rulers.
“Umno’s stand is that Parliament is very important and needs to be reconvened immediately to allow the people’s demands and hopes to be brought up, to highlight their struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also to ensure accountability on the part of the government.
“There is no need for terms such as ‘as soon as possible’ and ‘soon’ in the two statements that expressed a common stand (by the Agong and Conference of Rulers) on a parliamentary sitting.”
He said Umno is a party that preserves and defends the royal institution, as stipulated in Clause 3 of the party’s constitution.
Zahid reportedly chaired an Umno political bureau meeting last night.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his National Recovery Plan (NRP) announcement last week said Parliament will reconvene in September or October under Phase 3 of the Covid-19 exit strategy.
Once the country has achieved herd immunity, he said, the parliamentary democracy system can resume its functions.
“I give my commitment that parliamentary proceedings can be held in this phase (Phase 3) around September or October, where they will follow strict SOPs.
“This has been my stance from the start: that the parliamentary democracy system can function at the right time, which is when Covid-19 cases are under control and we have nearly reached herd immunity.
“I will hold to the principles of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. There should not be any parties raising anxiety and confusion among the public, to the point that it disrupts the government’s duty to handle the pandemic.”
Yesterday, he announced the setting up of a bipartisan committee comprising government and opposition representatives to study important aspects before Parliament reconvenes.
“Whether it (the sitting) will be held in a hybrid format or physically will be referred to the current Standing Orders,” he told reporters after visiting the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre vaccination centre.
Muhyiddin said it is not his intention to delay the reconvening of Parliament, but there are issues that need to be looked into carefully first.
He received backing from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who, on June 17, said the king did not set a date for Parliament to reconvene.
Muhyiddin’s plan is in line with the Agong’s decree, he said.
“The Agong in his decree said Parliament must reconvene as soon as possible; he did not decree that it be done in a specific month.
“The prime minister also said September or October (for Parliament to sit). Now, we are close to the end of June. After this, July, August, September... it is close.”
Police reports were lodged over Takiyuddin’s statement, and cops have launched an investigation.
Following high-level meetings with the Malay rulers, top civil servants and party heads, Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on June 16 said Parliament must sit as soon as possible.
In a statement from Istana Negara, the king said this will allow lawmakers to debate emergency ordinances and NRP.
He also expressed hope that the Covid-19 curve will be flattened soon and the national immunisation programme will be the exit strategy to end the health crisis.
A statement issued by Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin on the same day said the Agong is highly aware of Parliament’s role as an important platform for the people’s representatives to discuss various issues, especially Covid-19 at this point in time.
“The members of the Dewan Rakyat can discuss the government’s allocation to help people who are facing difficulties and restore the country’s economy.”
The Conference of Rulers is of the opinion that the emergency declared over the pandemic should not be extended beyond August 1.
Istana Negara, in a statement, said this is among the issues on which the rulers agreed, and that they believe the rising political “temperature” must be brought down.
“It is important that a government is stable, and has the confidence and support of the majority of the people.” – The Vibes, June 21, 2021
