COMMENT | Parliament’s opening - a royal rebuke?

COMMENT | Last week, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong chaired a special meeting of the Malay rulers at Istana Negara after granting audiences to political leaders the week before.

After the meeting of the Malay Rulers, Istana Negara issued a statement stating, amongst others, the Agong’s view that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible.

The Keeper of the Ruler’s Seal also issued a statement after the meeting which stated that the Malay rulers took the view that the checks and balance mechanism between the three branches of the state namely the executive, legislature and judiciary must be respected.

As such, the Malay rulers support the view of the Agong that Parliament should resume as soon as possible.

The Malay rulers also took note that the procedures of legislative sitting in other countries had been proven to be able to allow the legislative to go on even during the Covid-19 pandemic and such procedures should be adopted here in Malaysia.

To recap, in January after the proclamation of emergency was issued, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong promulgated the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance of 2021 upon advice of the government. The ordinance suspended the sitting of Parliament and the state legislative assemblies while the emergency is in place.

However, as rightly ...