KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Rakyat will finally meet today, following tremendous pressure for proceedings to be allowed not only from members of the public and opposition lawmakers, but also from Istana Negara and even the government’s own backbenchers after the declaration of the state of emergency on January 12.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had on June 16 issued a decree demanding that Parliament be reconvened.
This comes on the backdrop of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration being heavily criticised for its failure to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic.
An excerpt of Istana Negara’s statement read: “After studying the views from all political parties, the Special Independent Emergency Committee, and the presentations from various experts and government agencies, His Majesty holds the view that Parliament must reconvene as soon as possible.
“This is to allow the members of Parliament to debate the emergency ordinances and National Recovery Plan.”
However, based on the two-page order paper published on the Parliament website, it is clear that the sitting today will not feature any debate and, more importantly, any bill on which to be voted.
This, once again, leaves Muhyiddin’s position unchallenged – some say via loopholes and technicalities, instead of commanding the majority.
Is the special session Muhyiddin’s wayang kulit?
Opposition lawmakers have pointed out that this proves the Pagoh MP is clearly ignoring His Majesty’s view, and that he is just putting on a wayang kulit (shadow puppet show) by reconvening Parliament, while taking the mickey out of the monarch.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil said that Muhyiddin – and by extension the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration – has also acted unconstitutionally by disallowing any debate to take place in the lower and upper Houses.
He said a ministerial briefing, which will begin with Muhyiddin, on the various ordinances will not end up with a vote, and hence, any action taken by PN will lack legitimacy.
“Asking or intervening during a ministerial briefing or statement is not a debate. This lacks the legitimacy of debating it as a motion, which will end in a vote.
“A debate usually starts with the Dewan Rakyat secretary saying: ‘There is a problem that must be addressed by this meeting’.
“The secretary will then read the motion – whether it is a bill or motion by a minister. This is followed by a debate and decision through voting by all MPs. The House takes a position on the matter.
“Without a vote, Parliament is reduced to a rubber stamp. It is basically the government saying: ‘This is what we are doing. You can say what you want. We do not care about the position of the House.’”
The PKR communications chief said such a situation defies Article 43(3) of the constitution because the cabinet has a collective responsibility to Parliament.
“So, in this current situation, not only is it on the verge of derhaka, or blatantly derhaka, it also flies against the spirit of the constitution.”
Agreeing with Fahmi, Klang MP Charles Santiago stressed outright that Muhyiddin’s action in setting the current agenda is a clear-cut case of derhaka.
The DAP lawmaker said the prime minister’s move to make light of a royal decree has never happened in the history of Malaysia.
Traditionally, Malays have the highest respect for their royalty and hold the latter sacred, he added.
“This is a clear case of derhaka; there is no doubt about that. These ministerial briefings are being used to tell the king that Parliament is sitting when he wants a debate on laws and regulations. They (the government) are just sidestepping it.
“The king wants Parliament to be opened, so they opened it, but there is not going to be any debate,” he said, adding that it seems PN has forgotten that the Agong is the head of state and the prime minister works at his behest.
Pontian MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan also believes that the lack of voting has gone against the Agong’s wishes.
Speaking in a live-streamed interview yesterday, the Umno secretary-general said his party will still try to push the House to allow voting – particularly on the emergency ordinance and fake news – despite it not being scheduled in the order paper.
“We cannot afford to allow the emergency ordinance to prolong for another six months. This goes against Istana Negara’s wishes that the emergency not be extend beyond August 1.”
Under the constitution, even though the emergency ends on August 1, provisions allow its ordinances to remain in effect for another six months before it expires.
Parliament agenda setting lopsided to PMO
Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun told The Vibes that he predicts Day 1 of the special sitting will be full of drama, with opposition MPs walking out in protest or disgust during the proceedings.
However, constitutionally, the king’s hands are tied as he cannot simply instruct the prime minister to convene Parliament under the written constitution of the country, or unwritten constitutional convention as per the Westminster system, he added.
At the same time, Oh said, the federal constitution also allows the prime minister to call for Parliament and set the agenda as he wishes.
“Under the (unwritten) Westminster model, the king has the right to advise, encourage or warn both the government and opposition. So, the king was maximising these rights to advise and warn Muhyiddin explicitly and repeatedly
“At the same time, Muhyiddin holds the right to convene Parliament and set its agenda – again by both written constitution and Westminster – and he also maximises these rights.
“The king and prime minister must have superb constitutional advisers allowing them to maximise their respective roles and still stay within the constitution – could be Art for the prime minister,” said the political analyst, referring to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun’s nickname.
However, he does share the views of the opposition that this special session is nothing more than a briefing – making it a sham of democracy.
Seeing as how the setting of the agenda is at the sole discretion of the Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament observer Ong Ooi Heng said this is a problem that must be addressed and reformed.
“The agenda setting itself has made it clear that this special meeting is all about the statements. Hence, motions such as a motion of no-confidence are out of the question for the sitting.
“Reform is needed on the agenda-setting part to amend the Standing Orders in such a way that the order of business shall be decided in a Parliament Business Committee consisting of the leader of the House, leader of the opposition, leader of the backbenchers, etc.
“Otherwise, whoever the prime minister is, he will be the only person to decide on the agenda.” – The Vibes, July 26, 2021
Additional reporting by A. Azim Idris
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