Sin Chew Daily

More than a month after the emergency ordinance has been in force, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah says the parliament can convene during the emergency at a date seen as suitable by His Majesty, based on the advice of the prime minister.

In other words, the King has signaled the green light for the parliament to reconvene during the emergency, which complies with the principles of the country's Constitution.

According to the Constitution, the parliament should not halt the sittings under whatever circumstances, and the executive branch must be checked by the judiciary and legislature.

According to the statement issued by the Palace on Wednesday, His Majesty insisted that the emergency was proclaimed not to prevent the parliament from convening. Prior to that, some politicians have slammed those who have insisted that the parliament should reconvene during the emergency as going against His Majesty's will.

The latest statement from the Palace proves that the royalty has always embraced constitutional monarchy, and therefore all the three branches of government—executive, judiciary and legislature—must perform their duties in accordance with the Constitution.

Article 150 of the Federal Constitution does not specify that parliament is barred from convening during the emergency period, otherwise the executive branch will be seen as crossing the line.

Emergency was declared on four previous occasions in this country for various reasons, but the parliament was still operating as usual then.

According to the royal statement, the emergency ordinance this time has been declared to allow the government to more effectively run the country while battling the coronavirus. However, as all cabinet decisions need to be answerable to the parliament, including those on mitigating the coronavirus outbreak, we need to have a "full government" with strong coordination from a "full society" in order to achieve the desired goals.

Judging from the current circumstances, the SOPs under MCO 2.0 have been drawn up by the national security council (MKN) and various coordinating departments, and might at times contravene the public will. As such, the people's voices must be carried by the elected representatives to the parliament for deliberation so that public views could be taken into consideration while mapping any policy to ensure that government resources are deployed optimally to more effectively battle the virus.

It is the will of the majority of MPs to reconvene the parliament. Not just PH lawmakers, PN reps have also hoped that parliamentary sittings could proceed as usual even during the emergency.

Unfortunately, some MPs have been summoned by the police for discussing the emergency decree.

It is undemocratic for elected reps to not only be unable to discharge their duty of overseeing governance, but also be slapped with a gag order.

Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said has earlier written to the attorney-general to express her concern over the restricted functionality of the legislature.

The MPs have hoped that the parliament can reconvene on March 8 as scheduled, or at a later date after all elected reps have been vaccinated.

Although it is still unsure whether the MCO will be extended in some of the states after March 4, parliamentary sittings can still be held as usual in compliance with the SOPs because many economic sectors and even schools will have been operating as normal by then.

The ball is now in Muhyiddin's court when the parliament should reconvene. However, the prime minister may have other considerations and has therefore not advised the King as to when the parliament will reconvene.

Many believe that the biggest consideration is political in nature, including possible withdrawal of support from some Umno MPs, while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Tun Mahathir may have planned some further moves as well.

That said, given the grave situation of the pandemic in this country, the priority should be to contain the virus and political factors must therefore not be the excuse to withhold parliamentary sittings.

Now that the King has made his position very clear, it is believed that the elected reps will act as per the royal decree.

We are still awaiting a date for the parliament to reconvene, from the prime minister.

Once the vaccination program has been completed smoothly within the specified time frame and everything is put under control, there is also this likelihood Muhyiddin will seek the royal consent to dissolve the parliament to pave way for fresh elections.