KUALA LUMPUR – The indefinite delay of tomorrow’s Dewan Rakyat session has courted a fair share of detractors among lawmakers, especially those unhappy with the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Several lawmakers have accused the government of using Covid-19 as an excuse to keep Muhyiddin’s majority from being tested.
Ipoh Timur MP and Public Accounts Committee chairman Wong Kah Woh said the Covid-19 case numbers are merely a tool for the government to hold on to power.
It is clear that Covid-19 is only to be used as an excuse for the prime minister to hide from the parliamentary sitting on Monday, despite the fact that the government has already had a five-day sitting well designed to not have any voting session.”
He added that on Thursday, only 11 individuals tested positive out of 1,182 samples taken.
“Surely we cannot claim that there is a Covid-19 outbreak in Parliament based on a less-than-1% positivity rate,” he said in a statement today.
He also slammed Tambun MP and former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu following his supportive statement that Muhyiddin still commands the majority in Dewan Rakyat.
“Ahmad Faizal Azumu is definitely a better man compared with his party president (Muhyiddin). At the very least, Faizal did not block the motion of confidence against him to be put forward in the Perak assembly in November.
“Faizal should teach and advise the prime minister on what needs to be done in order to return Malaysia politics to stability, i.e. to have his support tested in Parliament.”
‘PN behaves like it holds absolute power’
Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad has taken the government to task, saying the PN administration is behaving as if it holds absolute power.
He told The Vibes that Putrajaya did not only disrespect the wishes of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Conference of Rulers, but acted as if “it has absolute say in the country”.
Amin recalled that the royal institution initially rejected the first proposal to declare an emergency.
The government managed to get the Agong’s nod much later under the pretext of combating Covid-19. Unfortunately, cases continue to rise and people feel hopeless and they realise the emergency proclamation is only meant to save those in power.”
He also said that Muhyiddin is cherry-picking laws to justify delaying the reconvening of Parliament.
“You can see they refused to have a proper Parliament sitting, which includes more meetings and longer ones in the Dewan Rakyat, and eventually, the sitting was postponed just like that.”
“It’s politics, not science’
Despite what Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yakob said today, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii claimed the decision to delay Parliament as one that is political as opposed to being science-based.
He agreed that the positivity rate is far below cause of concern as per the World Health Organisation’s recommended thresholds, and reminded that the Fire and Rescue Department have already sanitised the premises.
“Bomba came on Thursday to do the sanitisation, which means technically by Friday it should be able to open already,” he said in a Facebook post today.
He added that most of the people working in Parliament are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
What message is the government sending that Parliament cannot function even when a very small percentage of positive cases are detected?”
Earlier today, Ismail Sabri said the decision to postpone Dewan Rakyat was one based on health and science, not politics.
‘We don’t buy it’
Umno secretary-general and Pontian MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan tweeted that many do not buy the excuse that Parliament has been suspended due to Covid-19 infections.
He added that the PN administration should face the music and tackle the political and constitutional crisis.
“The Dewan Rakyat session slated for Monday has been postponed. Many MPs expected this and there are those who don’t believe it’s because of Covid-19. This political and constitutional crisis must be solved immediately. Face it with courage.”
Sidang #DewanRakyat Isnin 2/8/21 ditangguhkan.
— Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) July 31, 2021
Ramai #AhliParlimen sudah menjangka. Banyak pihak pula berpendapat bukan sbb #Covid19
Krisis politik yg berlaku, mesti diselesaikan segera.
Krisis Perlembagaan yg terjadi, mesti ditangani.
Berdepanlah dgn berani utk selesaikan❗️ pic.twitter.com/oN88Mj1A9d
In another tweet today, Maslan said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s wishes are not hard to fulfil, yet Putrajaya has not been able to get it done.
“It’s simple, present and debate. Even that, the government can’t do.”
SPB YDP #Agong miliki kuasa tertentu sbg Ketua Utama Negara
— Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) August 1, 2021
Titah Baginda baru2 ini tidak meminta sesuatu yg mustahil
Hanya yg mudah iaitu bentang, bahaskan. Itupun Kjaan tidak dapat utk penuhi
Ingatlah, suburkan #demokrasi. Jangan guna alasan2 #Covid utk kekang #AhliParlimen pic.twitter.com/3M4r2Xr9Z3
Parliament suspended after royal rebuke: Najib
Pekan MP and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not pleased that Parliament’s suspension came after the Agong’s public rebuke, which caused him to lose his turn to speak in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.
“Covid-19 suddenly attacked the Dewan Rakyat after the Agong expressed disappointment with the PN government for disrespecting the rule of law as well as the powers of the monarchy.
“Covid-19 suddenly attacked the Dewan Rakyat when it was my turn to speak,” he said in a Facebook posting yesterday.
And today, Najib questioned how Muhyiddin could express confidence that he has majority support in Parliament yet moved to subjugate the legislative house.
“I don’t see the need to express confidence that the eighth prime minister has majority support. When they are in Parliament they try to stifle any attempts to formulate a vote on legislative motions. Is the vote really that frightening?”
Taking a neutral stance
PN-leaning independent Tebrau MP Steven Choong maintained the official stance that Dewan Rakyat should be adjourned due to Covid-19 infections among staff and MPs.
“When the house was adjourned, I did ask why. We were told that a letter from the health director-general said there are cases in Parliament, and there were more than 50 cases.”
When asked if he believes the adjournment goes against the law, Choong told The Vibes: “The law itself has so many interpretations, so who am I to say who’s right or wrong.”
Unhappy lot
Subang MP Wong Chen questioned why Parliament is closed longer than required by the usual standard operating procedures.
“When there was a recent case of Covid-19 in two grocery shop workers detected near my house, the shop was closed for sanitisation, the rest of the staff were tested, cleared and then it was reopened for business two days later.
“But for Parliament, the decision is to close it indefinitely.”
Wong implied that although civil servants are to remain neutral, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s recommendation to close Parliament alluded to where his loyalties lie.
“I want to wish him (Dr Noor Hisham) the very best of luck, if he has to explain to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong why he recommended that Parliament be closed, thus stopping the debate on the emergency ordinance (scheduled for tomorrow).”
Civil servants are supposed to be completely neutral. At least, we all now know where the DG of Health stands in this crisis. (5/n)
— Wong Chen (@WongChenPKR) July 31, 2021
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng, meanwhile, accused the PN for being afraid to face the Dewan Rakyat despite claims of having majority support.
“Parliament has been disrespected once again. Stop these gimmicks and let Parliament reconvene, and don’t let democracy die!” he tweeted.
Kehormatan parlimen dinodai sekali lagi. Hentikan gimik ini dan biarkan parlimen bersidang.
— LIM LIP ENG (@limlipeng) July 31, 2021
Jangan biarkan demokrasi mati!
Isnin. 10 Pagi. Kita #occupyparliament
!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/K9W0rzh6DI
Kluang MP Wong Shu Qi was curious as to why Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon was the only one to receive a copy of the announcement to postpone Parliament.
“Why only send a copy to one deputy speaker? How about the Dewan Rakyat speaker and the other deputy? Has Datuk Seri Azalina Othman received a copy of this letter?” she asked, referring to the other deputy speaker. – The Vibes, August 1, 2021
