KUALA LUMPUR – Compounds issued under the emergency ordinances to standard operating procedure flouters still stand as the legislation is valid for six months following its August 1 expiry.
In a parliamentary reply, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Bera-BN) said the Emergency Ordinance (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) 2021 is in force until February 1 next year, or until it is revoked by Parliament.
This comes after Wong Kah Woh (Ipor Timur-PH) questioned if the government is ready to cancel the compounds issued, seeing that there has been confusion over the repeal of the ordinances.
Ismail Sabri said the ordinances are valid for six months after August 1, hence there is no confusion as alleged.
He said 10,419 compounds were issued between July 21 and August 27, and 112,671 between January and August 27.
“This is an increase of 45,129 compounds, as only 67,542 were issued last year.”
The revocation of the ordinances was a contentious issue during the previous Dewan Rakyat sitting.
On July 26, then law minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan told the lower house that the government had revoked all emergency ordinances, and would not advise Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to extend the declaration beyond its scheduled August 1 end.
After being blasted by numerous MPs, he revealed that the revocation of the six ordinances was backdated to July 21.
“I would like to inform the House that His Majesty the Agong has agreed to allow for this special session to meet. The document speaks louder than words.
“Secondly, I want to confirm in this lower house that the government has decided not to advise the Agong to issue a new emergency proclamation upon its expiry on August 1.
“Thirdly, the government has made a decision under Article 150(3) to revoke all emergency ordinances made during this proclamation.
“As we have revoked them, the matter of annulling (the emergency) is no longer relevant.”
Three days later, the king reprimanded Takiyuddin over his statement, saying it was “inaccurate” and “misled lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat”.
In a statement issued by Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, the Agong asserted that the application to revoke the emergency ordinances, backdated to July 21, was “hastily made without presenting it in Parliament”, and that “the contradictory and misleading statement in Parliament failed to respect the principle of the rule of law in the Rukun Negara”.
This “disregarded His Majesty’s functions and powers as the head of state, as enshrined in the federal constitution”.
“To this, His Majesty expresses great disappointment over the statement made on July 26 that the government has revoked all emergency ordinances promulgated by His Majesty, although the revocation has not yet been given royal assent.”
As the head of state, the statement said, the king has the “duty to provide advice and reprimand in the event of any unconstitutional action by any party, especially those who execute the functions and powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong”.
“Article 150(2B), read with Article 150(3) of the federal constitution, clearly provides that the power to enact and repeal emergency ordinances rests with His Majesty.” – The Vibes, September 28, 2021
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