Agong to convene special Rulers' Conference

 

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will convene a special Conference of Rulers on June 16.

On the agenda are the ongoing efforts to handle the Covid-19 pandemic and its implementation during the emergency.

"This conference is His Majesty's initiative and will be chaired by His Majesty," Istana Negara Comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said today.

The last time a special conference was held was on Oct 25, 2020.

This special meeting follows a series of audiences granted by the Agong to political party heads, which began today.

There are many speculations as to why the Agong was undertaking these unusual steps in such unprecedented times.

So far, the party heads who have been granted audiences today have informed the press that the discussions were mostly limited to the economy and the pandemic.

Interestingly, the Agong decided to grant an audience to the biggest opposition parties first.

Leaders of the three Pakatan Harapan component parties were granted audiences today. Tomorrow, Umno, Warisan and Parti Pejuang Tanahair are expected to follow.

The Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition leaders are scheduled to be granted an audience, albeit online, on June 14.

On Jan 12, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin convinced the Agong to declare an emergency which suspended all legislatures and elections. The emergency also granted the government sweeping powers to deal with "fake news" and power to take over private resources, among others.

Muhyiddin said this was necessary to help curb the spread of Covid-19. However, the Covid-19 situation has got far worse during the emergency.

Just eight days into June, 740 people reportedly died due to Covid-19. That figure is slightly over half the death toll in the whole of May and double the death toll in February. - Mkini