KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Tan Sri Annuar Musa has chided his Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan today, after claiming the latter called on Umno MPs yesterday to support a special Parliamentary sitting to discuss the state of Emergency.

Annuar also accused the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno secretary-general of making unrealistic demands that may be “treasonous” to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, pointing out that a parliamentary session cannot be called until the Emergency ends on August 1 based on the Emergency Ordinance.

“Unfortunately there is a glaring error in his interpretation of Article 150(3) of the Federal Constitution,” the Ketereh MP said in a tweet.

“It does not say that we must have a Parliamentary session as soon as the proclamation of Emergency was made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

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“He should know by now that the Emergency proclamation was made using Article 150(1) with Parliament suspended. It can only reconvene when the Emergency ends on August 1.

“It’s best the secretary-general seeks help from constitutional experts so he can be smarter when it comes to the laws of the country,” he added.

Under Article 150(3) of the Federal Constitution, a proclamation of emergency and any ordinances done under it must be presented to the Parliament, and may be annulled if the Parliament passes a resolution to that effect.

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However, Section 14(1) the recently gazetted Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 has seemingly contradicted it by stating that the Parliament is prorogued until the Emergency ends, and can only be called at the discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

It is understood that Ahmad wrote a letter addressed to Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri yesterday asking all Umno and BN MPs to vote by today through WhatsApp whether to call for an immediate Parliament sitting to discuss the Emergency declaration.

Annuar, who was recently replaced by Ahmad himself as BN secretary-general, accused the latter of going against the Agong’s decree.

“Umno or BN MPs cannot petition the King to undo what is constitutionally done. There is no legal provision for us to do so. There is no legal leg for us to stand on. Our actions are doomed to fail,” Annuar said.

“Your actions by sending this letter out can be deemed as going against the party’s ethics, is an insult to the party and can be deemed treasonous against the Agong.

“I for one wholeheartedly disagree with this move that is unconstitutional and against the party’s policies,” he added.

Malay Mail is currently seeking verification from Ahmad, and other Umno and BN leaders over the move.

The Proclamation of Emergency nationwide was gazetted on January 12, and deemed to be in effect from January 11 to August 1.

The Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 was gazetted on January 14, but deemed to have taken effect from January 11 onwards.

In his January 12 speech on the Emergency declaration by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that all elections and Parliament sittings would be suspended, but gave his assurance that the judiciary will continue to function during the Emergency and that the courts will not face any government interference.

Umno’s proposal follows Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s call after saying he wrote to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to ask that the latter rescind the Proclamation of Emergency placed across Malaysia until August 1.

According to Anwar’s letter that he shared with the media, he said Muhyiddin had misled the Agong with the advice for the proclamation and that Muhyiddin was also in no position to do so as his government no longer has majority support among federal lawmakers.

PKR’s Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim and Selayang MP William Leong are also spearheading two separate legal challenges dispute the Proclamation of Emergency.