KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan @ Harun has denied defending the government’s plan to only do so in September as acceptable and not too late, saying his quotes have been misconstrued.
“I had merely expressed that the prime minister had made a commitment to reconvene Parliament in September or October 2021 and that he had spelled out his rationale for doing so in his said speech,” he said in a statement.
He explained that he has never asserted or form any conclusion that the decision is “rational” or “acceptable and not too late”.
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.
On Wednesday, 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 at the state level, the respective legislatures should do the same.
