Pakatan pledges full support for King’s decision to reconvene Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council has expressed its gratitude to the Yang diPertuan Agong for decreeing that Parliament can reconvene during the ongoing state of Emergency.

PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his Parti Amanah Negara counterpart Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the Agong’s decree is also in line with sub-paragraph 14(1)(b) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021.

“This is also the stance of Pakatan and a majority of the MPs, that the executive and judiciary branches can work during the Emergency period,” they said in a joint statement yesterday evening.

The PH council added that Parliament must also continue to play its role in ensuring the government administration is looked after and the checks and balances process maintained.

“Therefore we fully support His Majesty’s wishes to restore Parliament’s position in playing a crucial role within the Federal Constitution, by highlighting issues and problems faced by the rakyat in containing the Covid-19 pandemic as well as mapping the steps to revitalise the national economy.

“We urge the Prime Minister to heed His Majesty’s decree and immediately advice the Agong to reconvene Parliament as early as March,” they said.

Earlier yesterday, the Agong granted an audience to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Seri Azhar Azizan Harun and Dewan Negara Speaker Tan Sri Rais Yatim, after which a statement was issued by the Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin.

The Agong is expected to announce a suitable date for the reconvening of Parliament, after taking advice from Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.