KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said that it should be clear that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong intends for Parliament to resume immediately.
During a live stream today, Anwar referred to a statement by the Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, which yesterday stated that the Agong is of the view that Parliament is an important platform for MPs to meet and discuss issues, especially relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For people who are sane, normal, they understand this means ‘have Parliament immediately’, because this disease is spreading and there is no sign of it subsiding,” said Anwar.
The Port Dickson MP was responding to a statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who yesterday said that the Agong had not specified a date for Parliament to resume.
Takiyuddin had said this means that Parliament can resume in September or October, in accordance with the National Recovery Plan, and still be in line with the YDPA’s decree that it should be done “as soon as possible”.
“The prime minister and the prime minister’s department still want to ‘bersilat’ and argue in the most weakest way by saying that the Agong did not set a date,” said Anwar, referring to the Malay martial art “silat” that usually starts with opponents teasing each other out.
“The prime minister seems to be hard headed and stubborn… you do not have legitimacy, you have lost trust, then you are supposed to comply with the Constitution and the advisory decree of the Agong to have a parliamentary session.
“If you are reluctant, then in a good and respectable way, save the country, save the economy, and allow the Covid-19 problem to be handled in a better way — therefore you should withdraw and resign your position,” Anwar said, referring to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin.
Anwar added that this was Pakatan Harapan’s stance, and that he believed that the majority of MPs and Malaysian citizens agreed with it.
Parliament was suspended by the government soon after the proclamation of Emergency on January 11, and is yet to reconvene.
Anwar’s address comes after a series of meetings were held between the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and reportedly 18 prominent political leaders, between June 9 and June 15 to discuss the pandemic, Emergency and Parliament suspension.
The meetings culminated in a special Conference of Rulers meeting yesterday, after which the Rulers decreed that the Emergency need not be extended past August 1 and that Parliament should be reconvened soon.
