Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad, Malaysia's king, center, onserves an honor guard during a ceremony at Parliament Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Jan 31, 2019. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
Malaysia’s king has publicly rebuked a government minister for “misleading” the parliament, adding pressure to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s embattled administration.
King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad clarified that he had yet to consent to canceling laws that were imposed without legislative approval throughout Malaysia’s emergency, according to a palace statement on Thursday.
The statement flies in the face of Malaysian law minister Takiyuddin Hassan’s remarks in parliament on Monday that the emergency laws had been revoked as of July 21. The move made any debates on the emergency unnecessary, Takiyuddin said, despite protests from opposition lawmakers.
“His Majesty states that the honourable minister’s statement in Parliament on July 26, 2021, is inaccurate and has misled members of the house,” the palace statement said.
King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad clarified that he had yet to consent to canceling laws that were imposed without legislative approval throughout Malaysia’s emergency, according to a palace statement
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“The conflicting and confusing statements in parliament” failed to respect the sovereignty of the laws, according to the statement. It also “goes against the functions and powers of His Majesty as the Head of State as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.”
The king was also “deeply disappointed” as he had proposed to Takiyuddin and the Attorney-General last Saturday that the emergency laws be tabled and debated in the parliament and then revoked, the palace statement said.
Assertive Role
The perceived disrespect of Malay institutions and misleading parliament further undermines the legitimacy of a government in crisis, Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate with the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia wrote on Twitter. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday urged the prime minister to take responsibility and step down. At a press briefing later, he called for a no-confidence vote against the prime minister.
After staying in the background of national politics for decades, Malaysia’s monarch began moving center stage last year to fill a vacuum created following the abrupt resignation of Mahathir Mohamad as premier. The king resolved a week-long impasse by tapping Muhyiddin to become prime minister without a parliamentary vote. In June, the king met politicians and royal leaders to discuss the worsening pandemic and called on parliament to reconvene as soon as possible.
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The emergency, set to end on Aug 1, handed the embattled premier wide-ranging powers to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, including shuttering parliament and introducing ordinances without legislative approval. The move was taken to check the spread of COVID-19.
Malaysia’s parliament sat for the first time this year on Monday, following pressure from the monarch. The five-day sitting has provided lawmakers an opportunity to grill Muhyiddin over his government’s handling of the pandemic and the economy.
Thursday’s sitting has been suspended until 5:15 pm local time to allow for screening of lawmakers following the two recent positive COVID-19 cases in parliament, Deputy Speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon announced. The sitting was already adjourned to 3:30 pm before the suspension.