The Malaysian Insight

PERIKATAN Nasional (PN) can no longer stall reconvening Parliament after a clear decree from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, said analysts.

The king, after chairing a meeting with the Conference of Rulers today, decreed Parliament must reconvene as soon as possible.

He made a similar stand in February when the emergency rule was already enforced.

Prof Ahmad Martadha Mohamed of Universiti Utara Malaysia told The Malaysian Insight that it was not just the king that wanted Parliament to reconvene but it was a collective stand of the Conference of Rulers.

“In February, the king had said parliament can still meet even under the emergency, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Today, the Conference of Rulers said the government must allow parliament to sit, with or without the emergency.”

“PN cannot give any more excuses in not reconvening Parliament,” said the dean of College of Law, Government and International Studies.

The king said that reconvening Parliament would allow lawmakers to debate the Emergency Ordinances and National Recovery Plan to exit the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After taking into consideration the views of all political party leaders, the special independent committee on the emergency 2021, and briefings from various experts from government agencies, His Highness is of the view that Parliament must reconvene as soon as possible.

“His Highness is aware of Parliament’s role as an important platform for elected representatives to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic,” the king said in a statement issued by Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin.

University Malaya Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the message from the Conference of Rulers was very clear.

“This is the second time that PN has been told to convene parliament. Indirectly, the king was being stern and serious about the importance of convening the Parliament but it was made in a very ‘polite’ manner,” Awang Azman said.

The Conference of Rulers met today after separate meetings the king held with political party heads last week.

The king had also held separate meetings with Arifin Zakaria, who heads the Special Independent Committee on the Emergency, and with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.

These meetings were held amid growing calls for Parliament to reconvene as Covid-19 cases spiked despite the state of emergency declared in January to fight the pandemic.

Former senior lecturer at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Prof Dr Jeneri Amir said the statement from the Palace was a positive reaction from the Conference of Rulers.

“It shows that the Malay rulers are concerned about the wellbeing of the people. The council wanted issues related to the people brought up through the proper channel which is the Parliament,” he said.

The rulers were concerned about the high numbers of Covid-19 cases and the need for debates among MPs on ways to reduce daily infection as well as to revive the economy, said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) political analyst Dr Mazlan Ali.

“After five months, cases are still on the rise and without debates in parliament, there will be more problems.

“The king and the other rulers are aware of the importance to open Parliament.

“Same goes on the vaccine issue which was touched on, in the statement. We are behind in terms of distributing the vaccine to the people. With Parliament open, the process of giving out vaccines can be improved.

“It was a very clear-cut message to the government of the day that parliament must reconvene as soon as possible,” Mazlan said.

Malaysia is still under the emergency until August 1 after the King had agreed to impose the ordinance back in January following advice from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The advice was made to the king after the country recorded high numbers of daily infection as well as the emergence of new clusters nationwide. – June 16, 2021.