ALOR STAR – The Kedah government will not seek an audience with the sultan for the state assembly sitting to be held sooner – a move other states are currently pursuing.
Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the state government will wait for the Parliament to convene first so it can learn and observe the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the session.
“We do not know when the expected date (of the state assembly sitting) is, but if we look at the parliamentary session, the notice can only be sent after the end of the emergency, which is August 1.
“So, we will be waiting to act after August 1,” he told a press conference today.
Several states have announced they want to hold state legislatures immediately, following the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Conference of Rulers’ decrees on parliamentary sittings last week.
Several states including Penang, Pahang and Perak have initiated plans to convene their respective state assemblies while Johor is expected to hold its state assembly sitting on August 12 following the decree issued by state ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar today.
Sultan Ibrahim is the latest of Malaysia’s nine royal households to grant his assent for a state assembly.
The first was Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah himself, who granted his assent for the Pahang assembly to convene roughly two weeks after the end of the emergency.
Similarly, Perak Speaker Datuk Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid said Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad will seek an audience with Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah this week to brief him on the proposed date for the state assembly sitting.
The actions of the royal household is more in line with public demands that Parliament be reconvened – a demand that has been deflected and avoided by the ruling Perikatan Nasional administration.
Meanwhile, Sanusi announced that the Kedah government will implement a special vaccination program in Langkawi to ensure that the tourist island achieves its herd immunity target before September.
He said that 61,000 people or 80% of the total population in Langkawi need to be vaccinated to revive the tourism sector in the island.
“We aim to reopen Langkawi to tourists this September through bubble tourism, where only tourists who have received both doses of vaccine are allowed to visit Langkawi.
“To ensure that 80% of Langkawi residents receive the vaccine, we have received assurances and cooperation from the Health Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to ensure that the process is hastened.” – The Vibes, June 23, 2021
