Parliament suspension 'not a good idea' in 1969 or now, minister told

 

The decision to suspend Parliament for two years following the 1969 racial riots was not a good idea at the time, and should not be emulated now, according to constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari.

In a message to Malaysiakini, the Perak DAP vice-chairperson said many questions surrounding the emergency that followed the 1969 elections and racial strife remain unanswered.

"Until today the incident is still shrouded in mystery.

"Perhaps the government should declassify all the documents relating to it as it is already more than 50 years," said the Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson in response to de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan.

Aziz said the questions include who had advised the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare an emergency, whether it was then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman or his deputy, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, and on what grounds.

"Tunku, in his memoir entitled Before and After May 13, was critical of the whole thing.

"In short, to rely on the emergency in 1969 may not be good.

"Just like today, it was a bad decision not to call Parliament in 1969, and it should not be followed," said Aziz.

Amid mounting pressure on the government to reconvene Parliament, Takiyuddin yesterday maintained that the government is functioning well even though Parliament has been suspended through an emergency proclamation that came into force on Jan 11.

De facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan

Takiyuddin pointed out that during the 1969 emergency, Parliament did not sit for two years but the government still continued to function.

Following the 1969 emergency declaration, Malaysia was governed by the National Operations Council as an emergency administrative body in lieu of an elected government, until its dissolution in 1971 with the restoration of Parliament.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday joined the call for Parliament to reconvene, arguing that it was now safe to do so as many MPs have been vaccinated for Covid-19.

The government said the recent emergency was necessary to combat the pandemic but critics accused the government of trying to cling to power. - Mkini