COMMENT | Perplexing reasons for not reconvening Parliament

COMMENT | The decision by the cabinet to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that there will be no parliamentary sitting during the emergency is perplexing, to say the least.

This decision was communicated by de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan at a press conference this week. The Kota Bharu MP said that Parliament has been “[…] postponed on legal grounds to enable the government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic more effectively”.

He was reported to have said that the government did not want to expose members of Parliament to unnecessary risks as many of them fell in the high-risk group for Covid-19.

According to him, out of the 220 MPs, 77 are aged 61 to 69, 19 are between 70 and 79 and four are aged 80 and above.

“So, we do not want to expose them to (possible) Covid-19 infection by being in a confined area which is narrow and closed.

Apparently, these decisions were made based on "facts and data".

To put his statements in context, the palace had issued a statement last week to say that the Agong was of the view that Parliament may convene during the emergency, based on the advice of the prime minister.

For the record, section 14(1)(b) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 provides that, “For as long as the emergency is in force, the Parliament shall be summoned, prorogued and dissolved on a date as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong thinks appropriate.”

The provision in the said Emergency Ordinance is silent on whether the king...