PETALING JAYA: The announcement by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (pix) that Parliament should be allowed to reconvene has drawn wide support.
Politicians and political analysts who spoke to theSun agreed that the King’s opinion, expressed in a statement issued by Istana Negara on Wednesday, is an affirmation of the supremacy of the Federal Constitution.
Political analyst Dr Lim Teck Ghee said the statement that the Dewan Rakyat can still sit during an Emergency should set the stage for a parliamentary session in the near future.
“Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will therefore be given the opportunity to prove that he, indeed, has the support of the majority of the House to continue as prime minister,” Lim said.
“There will undoubtedly be ripple effects on the contending parties but it should be viewed positively as a reaffirmation that His Majesty is upholding (the principle) of our democratic system based on the supremacy of the constitution,” he added.
Prof Barjoyai Bardai, an academic at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, said the Istana Negara statement had left (stakeholders with) very little room to manoeuvre.
However, he also pointed out that while the King had declared that Parliament could meet even during an emergency, it was very clear that he could only call for the House to sit on the advice of the prime minister.
“Therefore, Muhyiddin can still hold off on advising the King to reconvene Parliament until he is ready to call for elections. How soon that happens will depend on how safe Muhyiddin feels with the support he has,” Barjoyai said.
Umno Youth exco member Mustafa Shah Abdul Hamid said that by expressing his view that Parliament should meet, the King had shown that he intended to protect the country’s parliamentary democracy “during these difficult times”.
He said the Perikatan Nasional government’s “flip-flopping” had left the people confused.
Mustafa Shah also noted MPs will now have the chance to give voice to the people’s concerns.
He urged Muhyiddin to advise the King to call for a sitting of the Dewan soonest.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil said now that the King had expressed his views, the prime minister should advise him to convene Parliament as soon as possible.
“MPs want Parliament to sit again without delay because there are numerous unanswered questions of public interest that have to be brought up in the House,” he said.
He said to prevent not only the Dewan Rakyat but also the select committees from meeting is “a great disservice”.
Klang MP Charles Santiago echoed the view that Muhyiddin should advise the King to call for Parliament to sit again.
“This will also give Muhyiddin the chance to show the people if he has the support of the majority of the MPs,” he said.
He said this was all the more important given that even before the Emergency was declared, there already were rumours and questions about Muhyiddin’s ability to muster enough support from MPs to remain as prime minister.
Charles also pointed out that there is no longer any reason to hold off a Parliament sitting given that children are already going back to school and “life is returning to normal”.
