By Khairul Azran Hussin
SHAH ALAM, Jan 12 — The Pakatan Harapan (PH) has rejected the excuse given by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to enforce a national emergency as a means to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.
Its Presidential Council said that the suspension of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies is an obstruction of the democratic system.
In a joint statement yesterday, the Opposition pact said the existing laws, which include the movement control order (MCO), are sufficient to gather all the needed resources and energy to overcome the pandemic.
“For example, the emergency is not necessary just to gain cooperation from private hospitals because the sector is already prepared to assist the government in handling Covid-19.
“The act of suspending the Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies when the executive and judiciary systems can still function obstructs the check and balance process, inhibits democracy and dismisses the voice of the people,” the statement read.
The joint statement was co-signed by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
The coalition also expressed its concern that the emergency will affect efforts to revive the economy as well as investor confidence aside from its redundancy in overcoming the nation’s unemployment and loss of income issues.
Meanwhile, in regards to the elections, PH opined that the Sarawak state election does not need to be held by August while the 15th General Election should only take place by 2023.
“Muhyiddin proposed the emergency after he had lost the majority support of parliamentarians including Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz.
“Therefore, the excuse given is not acceptable because an emergency means paving the way for the prime minister to have unlimited, arbitrary powers to do just about anything he wishes,” it said.
