KUALA LUMPUR – The government can rely on existing laws to handle the coronavirus crisis, said seven former Bar Council presidents in response to rumours that a state of emergency will be declared.
Zainur Zakaria, Kuthubul Zaman, Yeo Yang Poh, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Ragunath Kesavan, Christopher Leong and Steven Thiru, in a join statement, warned that using emergency powers with the purpose of suspending Parliament may lead to citizens being disenfranchised.
“Covid-19 can be properly battled using existing laws. The effective measures undertaken to overcome the first wave earlier this year are a testament to the absence of any need for a declaration of emergency.”
Putrajaya is now using the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 to impose measures to curb the disease’s spread, including the imposition of several iterations of movement controls.
The seven pointed to a 2019 UK case, R (Miller) v The Prime Minister, which saw the British top court ruling that the judiciary can interfere in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bid to discontinue a parliamentary session.
“Our constitution, to be able to continue protecting citizens, is always a living document in need of purposive construction by the courts,” said the statement.
“If it shall come to that, we are confident that the judiciary will rise to the occasion.” – The Vibes, October 24, 2020
