Umno’s BN allies shy away from ultimatum on Parliament sitting

 

The King said last week Parliament must reconvene ‘as soon as possible’.

PETALING JAYA: Umno’s allies in Barisan Nasional (BN) have not decided to give any ultimatum to the government to reconvene Parliament “as soon as possible”, despite debate over the interpretation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s advice last week.

Earlier today, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Perikatan Nasional-led government to follow the King’s advice on reconvening Parliament.

MIC president SA Vigneswaran, however, distanced his party from the call, saying he would leave it to the government to reconvene Parliament “based on reasonable circumstances”.

“The government should call for Parliament (to sit) as soon as possible based on a reasonable situation, so it is up to the government to decide in the near future,” he told FMT.

SA Vigneswaran.

Vigneswaran said he saw Umno’s ultimatum as the party’s own decision.

“That is the decision of Umno, not BN, so it is up to Umno. We in MIC do not (give a deadline),” he said.

MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon said the decision to reconvene Parliament should be based on the law.

“The process of convening a parliamentary conference requires notice (28 days) to all MPs to send questions and then the relevant ministries provide answers, in addition to question and answer sessions and ‘Ministers’ Question Time’,” he told FMT.

Chong Sin Woon.

Chong said the emergency was expected to end on Aug 1 and Parliament could be called to sit according to existing laws.

Both MIC and MCA reiterated their stand to uphold the King’s advice.

Last week, following a meeting with fellow Rulers and after gathering the views of political party leaders and experts, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Shah, said a parliamentary session should be held as soon as possible to address the Covid-19 pandemic and save the country’s economy. - FMT