Questioning emergency motive is treasonous - Bersatu leader

 

Bersatu supreme council member Muhammad Faiz Na'aman said questioning the motives of the emergency proclamation is treasonous and should be punished.

Faiz said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's decision to accede to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's request for an emergency proclamation was based on his wisdom.

He added that apart from the prime minister, the ruler had received briefings from key civil servants before the decision was made.

"Therefore any insult, mockery, jibe or spinning on the emergency proclamation's true intent as stated in Istana Negara's official statement can be considered as a betrayal and treason.

"Whether it is done by ordinary or prominent persons, be it overtly or in a veiled manner, should be seen as a form of sedition with the malicious intent of diminishing the people's respect and loyalty to the institution of constitutional monarchy," he said in a statement titled "Emergency decree: Traitors should be punished". 

Istana Negara yesterday confirmed that the Agong had acceded to Muhyiddin's request for an emergency on grounds of combating the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, critics, particularly from Umno, have accused Muhyiddin of trying to cling to power after losing his majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

Umno MPs had been withdrawing support for Muhyiddin, who is also the Bersatu president, in a bid to pressure him into calling a general election.

Faiz said those "barking" for polls should look to last September's Sabah election which sparked the country's third wave of Covid-19 outbreaks.

"The demand for a general election is coming from politicians, particularly from Pakatan Harapan and Umno's court cluster who are politicking 24 hours a day," he added.

The term "court cluster" has been used to mock a group of Umno leaders facing graft charges and demanding concessions from the prime minister.

What the people want, Faiz said, was safety, economic recovery, a strong justice system and political stability.

He took aim at opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for expressing reservations about the emergency, reminding the Port Dickson MP that the previous Agong had granted him a pardon.

Faiz reiterated that the emergency was not Muhyiddin's decision alone but a collective one by the government.

He added that the Agong acted fairly, independently and with neutrality when he accepted the premier's advice for an emergency proclamation after considering national interest.

Muhyiddin, in his speech on the emergency proclamation, stressed that it was not a military coup and a civilian government will remain. - Mkini