KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has proposed for a special organisation similar to the National Operations Council (Mageran) to be set up, despite his suggestion in June being shot down by parties from both sides of the divide.
Dr Mahathir said the special organisation should be set up immediately and be granted special powers to act in whatever way to reduce the rise in new Covid-19 cases, until it ceases to be a threat to the lives and normal activities of the people.
“The organisation must be given the same powers and authority as that given to the Mageran in the 1969-1971 emergency.
“The actions to be taken should be funded by the government under a special allocation commensurate with the needs of the actions.
“Civil servants involved in the implementation must be put at the disposal of the organisation,” he said in a blog post today.
On June 10, he mooted the setting up of Mageran to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a bid to resolve the administration’s instability.
He brought up the idea over former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein’s successful manoeuvring of the country back onto firmer ground following the May 13, 1969, racial riots.
Dr Mahathir, who is Pejuang president, said the Agong under the federal constitution acts on the advice of the prime minister or ministers, but this requirement is for normal situations.
“In an emergency, if the action is in order to deal with the cause of the emergency i.e. the Covid-19 pandemic, the ordinary requirement for the Agong to be advised by the prime minister – if this stands in the way of dealing with the epidemic – this provision in the constitution can be disregarded.
“The situation is very serious. There is a need for immediate action, even if the action is contrary to the provisions of the constitution or the laws of the country.”
The Langkawi MP said the government needs to show efforts and act beyond the provision of the constitution and laws specifically to deal with the threat posed by the pandemic.
“The government may claim that a sitting of Parliament would obstruct the actions needed to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“But the sitting on July 26 is merely to brief members on the government’s plans for dealing with the pandemic.
“It has already been demonstrated that these plans are ineffective. The number of new cases, deaths and suicides have actually greatly increased during the emergency period.”
Meanwhile, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said lawmakers should be allowed to debate, not just on the emergency and its ordinances, but on matters linked to the pandemic, vaccination, expenditure and the National Recovery Plan.
In a letter to the Dewan Rakyat secretary, Anwar cited Standing Orders 26(1) and 27(3) when proposing the motion.
The Port Dickson MP is expected to propose that the emergency proclamation and ordinances failed to flatten the curve of Covid-19 cases, and that the national economy shows signs pointing to a failed state.
He will also propose that the economic situation of the people is so severe that the gap between the rich and poor has led to the creation of the B60 group.
Lastly, he said the House should honour the views of the Agong and Malay rulers in their statement on June 16, pointing to allowing debates to go on. – The Vibes, July 13, 2021
