PMO 'takes note' of royal stand, will act according to constitution

 

The Prime Minister's Office said today the federal government had "taken note" of the views expressed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday.

"The government will engage in follow-up measures based on the Federal Constitution and laws of the country," the PMO said in a three-paragraph statement.

The PMO added that when the Agong granted Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin an audience on Tuesday, the latter had advised the sovereign on matters concerning the country's Covid-19 response, enforcement of emergency laws, the Covid-19 vaccination programme, the state of the economy, the status of Parliament and the National Recovery Plan, among others.

Yesterday, Istana Negara issued a statement, explaining the Agong's wish for Parliament to be reconvened in order for MPs to debate the National Recovery Plan and the country's Covid-19 response.

This followed a series of meetings the Agong held with the heads of political parties, experts and the special independent committee on emergency over the past week, culminating in the special Conference of Rulers yesterday.

In turn, the Conference of Rulers decreed that the state of emergency should not be extended beyond the scheduled Aug 1 expiry date and also urged Putrajaya to reconvene Parliament.

So far, Putrajaya has not given any indication whether it will reconsider its plans to convene Parliament in September at the earliest.

Parliament is scheduled to reopen only if the new daily Covid-19 case count falls below 2,000 and the vaccination rate has reached 40 percent. Another condition is for there to be "sufficient" beds at Intensive Care Units available to Covid-19 patients.

However, Putrajaya has not clarified the ambiguities surrounding these three targets. - Mkini