THE Parliamentary session yesterday was shameful and unprecedented in our country’s history, said political commentator JD Lovrenciear.
“The shocks delivered by the Government during the proceedings cannot be dismissed lightly. Many questions are flooding the social media as people grapple with the unprecedented events.
“And the prime minister walks away from the Parliament without answering critical questions and being held accountable, as would be expected in a parliamentary democracy,” he said, in a statement.
The Parliament convened for a special session yesterday after being prorogued in February following the proclamation of Emergency.
However, the session turned unsavoury as MPs engaged in a verbal spat for nearly two hours, with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun being accused of being a “Government’s lapdog”.
The Opposition bloc also went ballistic after Prime Minister Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin left the house after his briefing, despite the day being exclusively slotted for him to answer questions.
Instead, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz stepped up to answer on the Pagoh MP’s behalf.
On that note, Lovrenciear was also aghast that the Cabinet had revoked the Emergency Ordinances (EO) on its own accord, raising issues on whether it was constitutional to do so or otherwise.
By not tabling the Emergency proclamation at the Dewan Rakyat, he opined, the Government had sullied Malaysia’s parliamentary democracy.
“In this chaos, Umno, while fuming against the many failures of Mahiaddin outside Parliament, appeared to be strangely indifferent inside the House.
“Many had held their breath, hoping that the Government would account for its actions during the Emergency when Parliament was suspended.
“But no, Mahiaddin and his Cabinet members not only failed parliamentary democracy but they have also put the country in poor light,” he stated.
Yesterday, Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan told the Dewan Rakyat that Putrajaya had cancelled all EO that were enacted this year, on July 21 during a Cabinet meeting.
“The Government has decided, based on Article 150(3) (of the Federal Constitution), to cancel all emergency ordinances (formulated) during the proclamation of emergency.
“Hence, (the laws have been) revoked. Therefore, the issue of annulment (of the laws) is no longer relevant,” Malaysiakini reported him as saying.
On related matter, former Bar Council president Salim Bashir told FocusM that the Emergency can be revoked using two methods, one is by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree and the other by tabling a motion at the Parliament.
“The revocation can be made under Article 150(3) of the Federal Constitution by laying before both Houses of Parliament in which resolutions can be passed by both Houses annulling such proclamation, unless it was sooner revoked.
“Now it falls back to the issue of the mechanics of such revocation without House Resolutions. This could happen in two situations, for example, the Agong who issued the proclamation of Emergency and the Ordinances to also exercise discretion to revoke upon advice of the Executive,” he said.
Citing an example, Salim said that in the the privy council case of “Teh Cheng Poh v PP (1979), the court ruled, ” the power to revoke however like the power to issue proclamation of Emergency vests in the Agong and Constitution does not require it to be exercised by formal instrument.”
“Secondly, the Ordinances can lapse at the expiration of a period of six months, from date of Emergency ceases to be in force under Article 150(7) of the Federal Constitution.
“But with the sudden announcement in the Dewan Rakyat and in absence of a gazette, it is likely to render the legitimacy of the revocations to be questioned,” he remarked. – July 27, 2021.
