KUALA LUMPUR – Umno ministers supposedly kept the government’s decision to retroactively revoke all emergency ordinances even from their own party backbenchers, before it was revealed in Parliament last Monday.
Party veteran Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said many Umno MPs were taken by surprise when law minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan announced the revocation, which also irked those in the opposition bench.
This explains a “small, emergency meeting” among Umno backbenchers in the Dewan Rakyat after the House erupted into chaos, supposedly to discuss the stand that should be taken by the lawmakers.
Tengku Razaleigh, who is Gua Musang MP, also described the government’s decision as lacking intelligence, especially after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong himself decreed for the emergency proclamation and its ordinances to be tabled and debated in Parliament.
“Umno representatives in the cabinet should have informed us in secret of the decision taken by the government, so we will at least know what is happening.
“But we didn’t know anything, and we were shocked,” he said during a virtual press conference today.
Tengku Razaleigh’s statement, if true, highlights further underlying problems within Umno, which is already facing an internal crisis pitting different factions — one in support of president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the other composed of MPs in cabinet positions.
Takiyuddin had on Monday, following pressure from the opposition, revealed in Parliament that all emergency ordinances had been revoked by the government since July 21.
The announcement took the majority of the Dewan Rakyat by surprise, many questioning if the cabinet decision had been presented to and consented by the king, which is required under the law.
The Gua Musang MP also slammed the government for not acceding to the Agong’s demand, adding that the content of a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday, insisting that the ordinances need not be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, is disrespectful to the king.
In view of this, he said the government should extend the current five-day Dewan Rakyat special sitting beyond Monday, to allow MPs room to air their views.
“With no clarity from the government side and the statement issued by the Istana Negara yesterday, I therefore recommend that the prime minister and his cabinet resign.
“Return the power to the Agong to decide the country’s future. By doing this, perhaps we can recover the economy and look for new strategies to end the Covid-19 pandemic.” – The Vibes, July 30, 2021
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