Now, PH leaders urge MPs to gather in Parliament

Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim and his fellow coalition leaders from Amanah and DAP have urged MPs to gather in Parliament if they do not hear any announcement from the prime minister by July 5.

Anwar, DAP’s Lim Guan Eng and Amanah’s Mohamad Sabu also accused Muhyiddin Yassin of committing treachery towards the Agong by not reconvening Parliament before Aug 1.

“If the prime minister and his ministers remain stubborn and commit treason against His Majesty and the Malay rulers, they will be responsible for triggering a constitutional crisis,” the trio said in their latest statement calling for parliamentary proceedings.

They urged both ruling and opposition MPs “who uphold the command of His Majesty and the spirit of the constitution” to gather at Parliament on July 19.

The statement followed an earlier move by the opposition coalition calling for Attorney-General Idrus Harun to be sacked, after the latter explained that the Agong was still bound by the advice of the Cabinet in summoning a Dewan Rakyat sitting.

Anwar had also accused the office of the Dewan Rakyat speaker of being compromised, triggering a sharp response from Azhar Harun who described the opposition leader as being in a “self-induced nightmare”.

Earlier this week, Azhar and his counterpart in the Dewan Negara, Rais Yatim, attended an audience with the Agong at which the ruler expressed his view that a Parliament sitting should be held before Aug 1.

They said they and their deputies, who were also present at the June 29 audience, had stated the commitment and full readiness of Parliament to hold a sitting as decreed by the king.

They also said the prime minister had been informed of the decree, and that a proposal had been submitted to him for such a sitting to be held.

The Agong’s first statement on the matter was made in the wake of a special meeting of the Malay rulers on June 16. It was followed by a separate statement by the rulers themselves, voicing support for the king’s stand.

They also said they saw no need for the emergency period to extend beyond its scheduled deadline of Aug 1.

The state of emergency was declared in January amid a spike in Covid-19 infections which also saw the enforcement of the second movement control order across large parts of the country.

Under the emergency declaration, Parliament and state assembly sittings have been suspended.