KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — Despite the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s recommendation for Parliament to meet urgently, Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun said the government’s plan to only do so in September was acceptable and not too late to address Malaysia’s multiple crises.

He was quoted in a report by Malay daily Utusan Malaysia as saying that he also did not see this as too late to address the mounting issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The last time Parliament sat was on December 14, 2020, and its meetings were suspended from January 12 this year due to the proclamation of Emergency.

"The prime minister has the authority to set a date to convene Parliament with the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"He is authorised to call for a sitting according to the Constitution, where, in fact, he has stated rationally as to why that timeline is appropriate.

"Among the reasons is because Covid-19 numbers and such, so as for Parliament, we will wait for a date to be set later,” he was quoted saying in the report.

Yesterday, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers decreed there was no need for the ongoing State of Emergency to be extended past August 1.

The Rulers had also said that they were in support of the Agong’s stance that Parliament be allowed to convene immediately, and on the state level, the respective legislatures should do likewise.