PM's abatement: A day late, a dollar short - Azalina

 

Umno supreme council member and MP Azalina Othman Said has described Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's climb down from a confrontation with Istana Negara as a case of too little, too late.

"A day late and a dollar short," Azalina wrote on Twitter today, in reference to the statement issued by Muhyiddin today.

Azalina is the deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat and the Penggerang MP.

Last week saw Istana Negara and Putrajaya publicly cross swords over the purported revocation of the emergency ordinances (EO).

Istana Negara said de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan had misled Parliament over the purported revocation, stressing that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong did not assent to Putrajaya's request and instead demanded that the EO be annulled through Parliament, as required by Article 150(3) of the Federal Constitution.

Putrajaya responded by claiming that it had followed due process by advising the Agong to do so on July 23 and again on July 27. Putrajaya added that the Agong was bound by Article 40 of the Federal Constitution to act on the advice of the cabinet.

Today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin promised that the EO will be debated for the purpose of annulment when the Dewan Rakyat reconvenes in September.

Meanwhile, veteran DAP lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said Muhyiddin's statement raises the question of whether the Dewan Rakyat should be reconvened on Aug 16.

He explained that the special sitting on Aug 2 had to be postponed in view that Parliament was undergoing lockdown for two weeks due to Covid-19 protocols.

An alternative was to prorogue the third sitting of Parliament, which has yet to be done. According to the order paper, the September sitting was supposed to be the fourth sitting.

"Muhyiddin should explain why the truncated Parliament special meeting could not be reconvened on Aug 16, or at an earlier date where the motion to annul the six EOs could be tabled, debated and decided at the meeting," Lim said. - Mkini