Zahid: Umno ministers will resign if emergency ordinances remain beyond Aug 1

 

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party has decided that all of its ministers, deputy ministers and heads of government-linked companies will relinquish their positions if the emergency ordinances are allowed to remain in effect beyond Aug 1.

He said this when conveying the party's insistence that the emergency proclamation and ordinances must be repealed during the special Parliament sitting tomorrow.

Citing the Federal Constitution, Zahid (above) noted that according to Article 150(7), the emergency ordinances will continue to have effect for another six months after the end of the emergency proclamation unless repealed by Parliament.

However, the current parliamentary order paper showed that the emergency proclamation and ordinances will only be tabled with no indication of a debate or vote.

"All Umno MPs must take the position that the emergency proclamation and ordinances must be debated and repealed.

"All Umno MPs must vote to repeal the emergency proclamation and ordinances," he said.

Zahid said this was based on the belief that the emergency, which was purportedly declared on the grounds of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, had failed.

"The emergency proclamation has clearly failed to resolve the Covid-19 pandemic and was instead a political tool to emasculate parliamentary democracy," he said.

When the emergency took effect on Jan 11, the country recorded 2,232 fresh Covid-19 infections with 28,554 active cases at the time.

Today the country saw a record 17,045 fresh infections while the number of active cases spiralled to 160,903.

Zahid made it a point to highlight that ending the emergency, as is Umno's position, is not merely letting the emergency lapse on Aug 1 but also repealing the ordinances so that they will not continue to have effect for another six months.

"Respecting and abiding by the party's decision that if the emergency (proclamation and ordinances) continue beyond August 1, then all MPs will withdraw their support (from the government) and all ministers, deputy minister and GLC chairpersons from Umno will resign," he said.

Zahid added that Umno's position is also in line with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Conference of Rulers' position of not wanting the emergency to continue and for the emergency ordinances to be debated in Parliament. - Mkini