UNIMPRESSED by a minister’s move to compare the current Emergency with the one back in 1969, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made a comparison on both scenarios.
“In 1969, the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong did not issue a decree that the Parliament can continue its proceedings as usual.
“The then Perikatan coalition won a handsome majority at the time, which were 66 seats compared to the 37 won by the Opposition at that time. Plus, the then Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker was not running around the august house,” he said in a Facebook post.
After proclaiming Emergency early this year, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has refused to reconvene the Parliament despite the Istana Negara issuing a statement saying that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Shah had consented to reopening the august house.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported Law Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan defending Muhyiddin, by saying that back in 1969, the Parliament was suspended for two years following the May 13 racial riots.
“There was already a sitting last December when we approved the budget. Now it’s March. It’s only been four months. It is not an issue.
“In 1969, Parliament did not sit for two years, there were no problems for the Government to function,” he told a press conference in Kota Bharu yesterday.
Hurling brickbats at the argument, Najib said that it did not make sense for the Parliament to be prorogued when almost all activities involving large crowds have now been allowed to resume.
“They used the so-called ‘science and data’ to continue suspending our Parliament citing health hazard for our MPs.
“Yet, the Government had decided that health spas, Ramadan bazaar, cinemas, casinos, lottery outlets, shopping malls, schools, resorts, ‘fun ride which was not fun’, night markets and others are safe to operate,” he remarked. – March 22, 2021
