Dr Kelvin Yii in the Dewan Rakyat.
KUCHING (July 31): The statement issued from Istana Negara rebuking the government of the day over its mishandling of the current Emergency Proclamation and its Ordinances as well as deliberately misleading the Parliament and also the people of Malaysia, has got to be ‘the strongest worded statement ever’ from the Palace, says Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
According to him, the issue is of utmost importance in that it involves matters related to the Constitution – the highest law of the land – and it must be settled beforehand as it encompasses almost all issues including the economy, health approach and social liberties.
Once this question has been settled, only then any discussion of the way forward including debates over the National Recovery Plan (NRP) could be effectively conducted as it would be also affected by this Emergency Proclamation, said Yii when contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday.
However, the current Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led government had shown its incompetence not only in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and trying to reboot the economy, but also in terms of fundamental constitutional requirements in revoking the Emergency, and having no qualms about ‘being dishonest to the people’, the MP pointed out.
“Even if we do not agree with the Emergency and wants it revoked as soon as possible, it must be done with accordance with the Constitution and the Rule of Law,” stressed Yii.
“Fact of the matter, they cannot just put the blame on the de facto Law Minister YB Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan – although the announcement was made by him in Parliament, such decision was made in Cabinet which in the spirit of Cabinet Collective Responsibility, all of the ministers including those from Umno, PAS, GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak), Bersatu are liable for this faux pas and thus, must be held responsible.
“The Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) could have stopped de facto Law Minister (Takiyuddin) from such faux pas in Parliament on July 26, or remedy the situation later, but he did not. He (Muhyiddin) did not even turn up that afternoon to make the necessary clarification, and no other Cabinet minister did so as well for the following days – up until the official rebuke from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“That’s why the Prime Minister and his whole Cabinet are, therefore, responsible for this shameful act and must take full responsibility,” said Yii.
He said what was worst, was that after the ‘Royal Rebuke’, instead of coming out to clarify the issue in Parliament and show leadership in the matter to ensure stability, Muhyiddin and his Cabinet had instead postponed Parliament on Thursday without clarifying the issue properly, leaving the country in limbo and in a huge uncertainty, which was bad not just for economic stability and investors’ confidence, but also for public confidence, which was important in view of the ongoing Covid-19 immunisation programme and infection control.
“If they believed what they did was right, they should not be afraid to face the members of Parliament for proper scrutiny. Now, we’re all made to pay for the incompetence of the government – the PM and his Cabinet must take full responsibility for this mess.
“This is not the kind of leadership the people deserve,” said Yii.
The parliamentarian was commenting on a statement from Istana Negara on Thursday about Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah being ‘deeply saddened’ by Takiyuddin’s assertion in Parliament that the Emergency Ordinances had been revoked.
The Agong also said that the minister’s remarks had confused the Parliament, and that the announcement was ‘not accurate’.
Al-Sultan Abdullah’s statement had been met with calls for Takiyuddin’s resignation, as well as calls for Muhyiddin to step down as Prime Minister.