KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has written to all MPs asking them to write to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to plead with His Majesty to revoke the proclamation of emergency and allow the Parliament sitting to be held as soon as possible.
“Hopefully, the letter will be given due consideration by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to revoke the declaration of emergency and then order that a Parliament sitting be held immediately, before January 31, to discuss the issue of the emergency, Covid-19 and the economic crisis that has hit the country,” he said in a statement today.
On Tuesday, Istana Negara issued a statement that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has consented to the proclamation of emergency being implemented until August 1, as a proactive measure to curb the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in a special address in conjunction with the proclamation of the emergency on the same day, explained that the Cabinet had advised His Majesty to issue a proclamation of emergency for the whole country in accordance with Article 150 (1) of the Federal Constitution, effective from January 11 to August 1, 2021.
Article 150 (1), among others, provides that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can declare a state of emergency if he is satisfied that a major emergency is taking place causing security or economic life or public order in the federation to be threatened.
The Covid-19 pandemic is now a major threat to the economic life of the people in this country.
— Bernama
