29th July 2021
Are we some sixty hours to a major constitutional crisis in Malaysia – which will be a double whammy for Malaysians on top of the mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic which has catapulted Malaysia to be one the world’s dozen countries which are the worst performers in the pandemic whether because of daily new cases or daily Covid-19 deaths.
If by Saturday midnight – some sixty hours from now – there is no Royal Assent to the revocation of six Emergency Ordinances announced in Parliament on Monday by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament), Takiyuddin Hassan, Malaysia will be plunged into a major constitutional crisis.
There are at least six other indications to show that a major constitutional crisis is in-the-making, viz:
1. Statement by the Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa that the revocation of the six Emergency Ordinances are still in the process of revocation.
2. The absence of gazette of the Royal Assent and revocation of the six Emergency Ordinances in the past week;
3. The inability of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and the Prime Minister himself to declare that Royal Assent had been given to the revocation of the six Emergency Ordinances, despite being questioned in Parliament daily for the last three days;
4. The letter by the Parliament Speaker to the MP for Bruas, Ng Koo Ham, rejecting his motion to annul the Emergency Ordinances on technical grounds, instead of on the ground that the emergency Ordinances had been revoked; and
5. The failure to inform MPs of the revocation when the six Emergency Ordinances were laid before the House.
This is a national tragedy for it had distracted Parliament, in its special meeting, to focus singly on the Covid-19 pandemic, as the issue of whether six Emergency Ordinances had been properly revoked had haunted the last three days of Parliament.
It showed a government in paralysis, unable to plan and to take action to ensure that when the country is marking its 64th National Day on August 31, the country will not be having more than 1.5 million Covid-19 cases and 1,500 Covid-19 deaths and reaching two million Covid-19 cases and nearly 20,000 Covid-19 deaths when marking the 58th Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, 2021.
Why is the position of the Attorney-General, Idris Harun on whether the six Emergency Ordinances have been revoked – to the Government, to the Yang di Pertuan Agong and to the people of Malaysia?
Lim Kit Siang
MP for Iskandar Puteri
