PM agrees for Parliament to convene before Aug 1

Putrajaya today said that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has agreed for Parliament to convene as soon as possible, with a with a decision to be made at the Cabinet meeting on July 7.

“The federal government always upholds the commands of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in all matters related to the administration of the country including on Parliament sittings.

“In this regard, the prime minister as head of the parliamentary council has decided to call a Parliament sitting as quickly as possible before Aug 1,” law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said in a statement today.

The Agong’s latest call for Parliament to convene came on June 29, after an audience with Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun and their deputies.

He also made a similar call in the wake of a special meeting of the Malay rulers on June 16. This 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.

Azhar and Rais said after their audience with the king that the ruler had expressed his view that a Parliament sitting should be held before Aug 1, adding that they had stated the commitment and full readiness of Parliament to do so.

Earlier today, Pakatan Harapan leaders urged MPs to gather at Parliament on July 19 if they did not hear any response from the prime minister on the matter by July 5.

PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also accused Muhyiddin of committing treachery towards the Agong by not reconvening Parliament before Aug 1.