The Malaysian Insight

THE Prime Minister’s Office was arrogant and rude with its counter-statement yesterday to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with its insistence on defending the cancellation of emergency ordinances, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council said today.

By defending its move to cancel the ordinances without royal assent and without parliamentary debate, the government has disrespected the federal constitution and parliamentary democracy, the council said in a statement signed by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

“The counter-statement by the PMO yesterday was rude and arrogant towards the supreme head of the federation, and traitorous of the federal constitution and of parliamentary democracy.

“It must be pointed out that a leader who no longer has a good relationship with the king and is no longer loyal to the monarch will not survive for long,” they said.

The PMO in a statement yesterday evening, defended the decision to revoke the emergency ordinances effective July 21.

It said the government had followed constitutional requirements in doing so, adding that the king was to act accordance with the cabinet’s advice as stipulated in the constitution.

The PMO said the king had been informed of the cabinet’s intention to revoke the ordinances, first on July 23 by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who also sought the monarch’s assent to the cancellations, and again on Tuesday in an audience.

The announcement that the ordinances had been cancelled by the government effective July 21 was made in the Dewan Rakyat the day before, on Monday, by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) Takiyuddin Hassan.

The PMO statement yesterday followed one by the Istana Negara, which stated that the king had not consented to the cancellations. The king also expressed disappointment that Takiyuddin had misled the Dewan Rakyat.

The PH council today also slammed Attorney-General Idrus Harun for failing to carry out his duty to provide legal advice to the king in a neutral and independent manner.

It also criticised Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun for siding with the government by preventing any debate on cancelling the ordinances.

“There is no other course of action but for Muhyiddin, the entire cabinet, the speaker and the attorney-general, to resign honourably,” the PH council said.

“If this is what Muhyiddin and the Perikatan Nasional government have done to His Majesty, what more will they do to the people?” it asked. – July 30, 2021.