Muhyiddin: Not a single emergency ordinance meant to keep PM in power
PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said not even one of the ordinances introduced under the Emergency Proclamation was aimed at enabling the prime minister to remain in power forever.
In fact, the emergency that is in force now has an end date, Aug 1 this year, he said.
“This is the first time in the history of our country that an emergency has an end date ... I am aware of and I understand the meaning of democracy,” he said in his One-Year Malaysia Prihatin Keynote Address here yesterday which was carried live on local television.
Muhyiddin said since the emergency came into force, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had promulgated three ordinances, namely the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, Emergency (Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodation and Amenities) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 and Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021.
He said all the ordinances were aimed at enabling the government to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic more efficiently and effectively, including improving the management of foreign workers’ accommodation, which was one of the main causes of the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
In the meantime, he requested for the government to be given the space to focus fully on efforts to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
The prime minister gave an assurance that once the Covid19 problem has been se led, he himself would advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve
Parliament for the general election to be held.
“As I have repeatedly stressed, I uphold the Constitution and the principles of democracy ... the main focus of this government at this moment is to steer this country clear of the double whammy of health and economic crises.
“Once the pandemic is over, which I hope will be very soon, I will advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve the Parliament. Until then, my colleagues in the Cabinet and I will continue to carry out our duties and responsibilities to the best of our ability,” he added.
Muhyiddin also said that when the election is held, it is up to the people to decide whether the PN government should be re-elected or otherwise.
“You are free to choose and that is what democracy is all about,” he said. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday obtained an interim injunction to restrain UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi from republishing allegedly defamatory statements over quarantine order involving the prime minister on his (Mohd Puad) Facebook page.
Muhyiddin’s lawyer Rosli Dahlan said High Court judge Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril allowed the ex-parte application by Muhyiddin this afternoon in the presence of his two other lawyers, Datuk D.P. Naban and Louis Liaw.
“The writ of summons was filed this morning with a certificate of urgency to hear a notice of application for interim injunction. The High Court Judge granted an interim injunction pending disposal of the interparte hearing which was fixed on March 12,” he told Bernama via WhatsApp message.
In his ex-parte application filed with the writ of summons yesterday, Muhyiddin applied for an injunction order to restrain Mohd Puad as the defendant, or his agent, representative or anyone from re-publishing, re-posting and re-sharing the allegedly defamatory statements on Mohd Puad’s Facebook page.
Muhyiddin filed the application on grounds that the statements by Mohd Puad are false, defamatory and had tarnished the reputation and the good name of the prime minister locally and internationally.
Muhyiddin said the ex-parte application was needed because if a notice was served to the defendant, there would be a risk that the defendant would sensationalise the application which would result in his readers sharing the post.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin who filed the writ of summons and statement of claims through Messrs Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership in his personal capacity, claimed that on Feb 9, Mohd Puad had published a post on his Facebook page under the name of “DrPuad Zarkashi” with the title “Kuarantin pun ada dua darjat?”.
Muhyiddin claimed that the post could be accessed by Internet users across the world and had received 1,200 reactions, 215 comments and 182 shares.
He claimed that the post referred to “PM” which is an abbreviation for the Prime Minister and that the post contained untrue, unwarranted, unsubstantiated and mischievous remarks against him and have defamed him.
Muhyiddin claimed that the statements implied that he and his entourage had refused to undergo quarantine for 10 days upon their return from their official trip to Jakarta, Indonesia.
Apart from that, Muhyiddin claimed that the statements also implied that his refusal to be quarantined was due to the new instruction issued by the Minister of Health through the Federal Gazette that Cabinet ministers returning from official visits abroad would only be required to undergo quarantine for three days and thus overruled the instruction of the Health Director-General (DG) under Act 342 (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988).
“It also implied that the plaintiff had refused to adhere to the instructions of the Health DG, provisions under Act 342 and the Movement Control Order, had abused his power to enable the Cabinet minister to undergo only three days of quarantine which contravened the Health DG’s instructions, and showed no concern over public health,” he said.
Muhyiddin claimed that following the defendant’s post, the defamatory statements had also been published by several news portals, including that of Sinar Harian and MalaysiaGazette, and that the defendant had, on Feb 19, made another post on his Facebook page after the prime minister sent a legal letter demanding a public apology and compensation of RM10 million.
He further claimed that Mohd Puad had, at 7.44 am on Feb 21, published on the same Facebook page the third post asking “when Muhyiddin will make another trip overseas?”, and the fourth at 8.17 am on Feb 23, “inviting him for a debate”.
According to the plaintiff, on Feb 9, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a statement strongly denied claims made by Mohd Puad and explained that Muhyiddin had been handed the home surveillance order and given the observation wristband to wear as soon as he arrived from Jakarta on Feb 5 and that he (Muhyiddin) was undergoing quarantine at home.
The PMO, in the statement, had said that legal action would be taken against Mohd Puad if he failed to make a public apology over the matter.
“The PMO has also asked the defendant to apologise publicly and immediately but until today, the defendant had refused to do so. The defendant also failed to communicate with the PMO to verify the information in the statements before publishing it,” he said. — Bernama