I used to chair the committee to recommend the speech to be read by the King, says Anwar

He said the parliamentarians were free to disregard, reject and argue the points the King had brought up as the facts originated from the BN-led government.

(FMT) - Pakatan Rakyat has not accepted the King’s call this morning for all quarters to respect the 13th general election results.

Instead, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim today said that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah’ speech was a mere “recommendation” from the Prime Minister, and was up for debate by his colleagues.

“The speech from the throne, in a democratic conventions, means what is suggested and recommended by the Prime Minister for a debate in the house,” the PKR de facto leader told reporters outside the Dewan Rakyat today.

“If it were an order from the King, there would be no debate. But the principle in a democratic convention is for debates to take place, not for orders to be made.”

He said the parliamentarians were free to disregard, reject and argue the points the King had brought up as the facts originated from the BN-led government.

“The speech was recommended by the prime minister. (This is) standard practice. I used to chair the committee to recommend the speech to be read by the King, to be seriously recommended to the house,” said Anwar.

On Sunday, Anwar had told a press conference that Pakatan would continue to protest against alleged electoral fraud, just one day after their Black 505 rally in Padang Merbok saw a poor turnout.

But the King in his opening speech to the parliament this morning urged all parties to respect and accept the poll results as the election was conducted based on the tenets of democracy.

But like Anwar, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told reporters that the King’s text was prepared by the prime minister when asked if Pakatan were now willing to accept the election results.

“I feel there is an attempt to drag the King’s good name into this issue. This is a matter of credibility and legitimacy, and it is closely related to the Election Commission,” said the Pandan MP.

“So the people who must answer to this are (Prime Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) and the Election Commission,” he stressed.

Rafizi said the opposition would also continue to shoulder the “responsibility” of cleaning the electoral process.

Meanwhile, PAS Youth leader Nasrudin Hassan said that they accepted the election results, and this was why they had undertaken the swearing-in process as parliamentarians yesterday.

“What we reject is lies, fraud, irregularities. So as a whole, we accept the election results, but there are several irregularities that must be solved,” the Temerloh MP told reporters.

But he said the rallies should continue, as it was a means for the rakyat to air their grouses over the alleged electoral fraud.

“The government should look into the people’s right to speak out. As long as there is not riot, no violence,” he added.

On related matter, Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar defended the King’s speech, saying the Ruler speaks on the advise of the government, as stipulated under the Federal Constitution.

Whether the speech was written by the Prime Minister’s Department, the Santubong MP said,” The speech is written by the palace but the prime minister’s advise can come in many ways.”