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In a posting this evening, the former prime minister said the Muhyiddin plan sounded “as if this is the first time Parliament will sit”.
He added: “There’s no need to study anything. I’ll give a solution. Step 1. Send a notice to the (Dewan Rakyat) speaker to call for Parliament to reconvene. Step 2. Parliament reconvenes. Done.”
Najib said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers’ Conference, in making known their views earlier this week, had said that Parliament should be reconvened as soon as possible. They had not called for a committee to be formed to study the matter, he said.
Muhyiddin had said earlier today that he did not want to delay reconvening Parliament but said a committee comprising government and opposition representatives would consider whether Parliament should reconvene in a physical or hybrid setting.
He said various matters needed to be scrutinised, such as seating arrangements that complied with Covid-19 rules, and the delay was not a matter of going against the wishes of the King or the Rulers’ Conference.
The rulers had also said that the state of emergency should not be extended beyond Aug 1.
Separately, the Pakatan Harapan legal committee said the government’s tardiness on the state of emergency and Parliament was tantamount to “defiance of the King” and “an act of contempt” against the monarchy and Parliament.
The committee urged the King to verify if the prime minister’s “recalcitrance and defiance” was supported by a majority of MPs, and if not, the King should demand the prime minister’s resignation.
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