No need for NOC but crucial to reopen Parliament - minister

 

The country does not need a National Operations Council (NOC) to govern, said a cabinet minister, but stressed that it is crucial to have Parliament reconvene as soon as possible.

Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, who is the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Special Functions, claimed that the government had been doing well in managing the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Why should the Prime Minister call for Mageran (NOC)? We are doing reasonably well despite the unprecedented challenges.

"We are dynamic and always want to adapt to changing priorities as we move forward. There are no single fixed solutions and standard operating procedures under present circumstances," he said in a text message to Malaysiakini earlier today.

Mageran, which stands for Majlis Gerakan Negara, is the Bahasa Malaysia acronym for NOC.

Redzuan was commenting on the proposal by Dr Mahathir Mohamad during the latter's audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Thursday. The former prime minister suggested setting up an NOC similar to the one in 1969.

The minister said such a proposal should only come from the government of the day, and the palace cannot execute such a move based on advice by other parties.

"If other parties want to use the palace to set up an NOC, and the palace orders for the execution of a proposal that is not made by the government, the Constitution is then compromised, in my opinion.

"The basis of this is, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can only make a proclamation at the advice of the prime minister.

"It is therefore crucial that the Dewan Rakyat is allowed to convene, and the government wants to try its best to gather all MPs as soon as possible.

"However, this must be balanced with the risk of Covid-19 outbreak, which is high these days," he said.

Redzuan added that the current National Security Council is already good enough to manage the country during the pandemic, instead of an NOC. - Mkini