KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — After two days of government briefings in Parliament disrupted by frequent shouting matches, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan asserted today that his party was “right” to break away from the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
Mohamad, who is assemblyman for Rantau in Negri Sembilan, said the actions displayed by the PN government manifested during the recent special Parliament sitting were deeply troubling.
He also cautioned that Malaysia is heading towards “stealth authoritarianism” — where the government applied the law according to their own whims and fancies in times of crisis — if allowed without intervention.
“Umno was right to say that suspending Parliament and crippling the Constitution is not the way to manage the crisis. Consequently, compelling the Parliament to reconvene.
“Umno was also right to say that resolving the country's economic and health crisis requires the involvement of all and not just the executive.
“Having all of this said and done, it only validates Umno as the voice of enlightenment to illuminate Malaysia from its darkest and dimmest moments,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
He claimed that PN government’s ambiguous and non-transparent actions were evident in the revocation of the Emergency Ordinance as announced in Parliament yesterday without prior official announcement or put forth for debate among federal lawmakers.
There was also no formal government gazette published of the revocation or a formal declaration by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“The repeal of the Emergency Ordinance by the Government yesterday to me is unconstitutional.
“The presentation of the Emergency Ordinance was scheduled to be tabled in the Special Parliamentary session. But it was suddenly cancelled. Everything was done without transparency.
“The cancellation was also only bafflingly announced in Parliament. Since when has the Parliament reduced to become a mere ‘rubber stamp’ to Cabinet decisions?” Mohamad added.
Yesterday, de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan revealed in Parliament that the six Emergency Ordinances drafted and enforced during the period of Emergency were voided and annulled by the government on July 21 after a Cabinet meeting on the same date.
Mohamad said the repealing of the Emergency proclamation justified Umno’s stance that it was wrong and unnecessary from the very beginning.
He stressed that the sanctity of Parliament must be upheld to its highest virtues, further singling out the PN government for ignoring their solemn Parliamentary duty by advancing personal gains at the expense of National interest.
“Umno has done its best at pushing the people's voice. Vehemently opposing the emergency declaration, demanded its repeal, demanding a reconvening of Parliament and restoring Malaysia's democracy and the honour of the Constitution.
“Umno's persistence has clearly put the PN Government in a despondently desperate and fragile position,” he said.
