King says Parliament should be reconvened 'as soon as possible'

KUALA LUMPUR (June 16): The Yang di-Pertuan Agong said Parliament should be reconvened “as soon as possible” to allow lawmakers to debate the Emergency Ordinance and the National Recovery Plan.

Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah arrived at the recommendation after taking into account the views of political party leaders, the Independent Special Committee on Emergency and experts from Government agencies, Istana Negara (pictured) said in a statement today.

“His Royal Highness is well aware of Parliament's role as an important platform for Parliamentarians to discuss a multitude of issues, especially involving the Covid-19 outbreak. Members of the Dewan Rakyat can discuss the Government's Budget allocation to assist the rakyat, and to aid the nation’s economic recovery,” the statement said.

On a related matter, the King also expressed hope that the Covid-19 infection numbers can be lowered as soon as possible, and is in the view that vaccination is the only exit strategy to control the outbreak in this country.

“As such, his Royal Highness said the Government must take strict measures to improve bureaucracy and hasten the vaccination process for the public so that the herd immunity objective can be achieved as soon as possible,” the statement read.

The King thanked the Malay rulers for their concern over the issues involving the nation and the livelihood of the rakyat. He also thanked the frontliners and the public for the efforts in combating the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, said Istana Negara.

Parliament sittings have been suspended since the first quarter of the year, following the invocation of the Emergency Ordinance, which Putrajaya said will provide the Government with the ability to mobilise all necessary resources to combat the outbreak.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he expects Parliament to reconvene by August or September, when daily Covid-19 cases drop to below 2,000 and social sectors are reopened in stages. The Emergency is currently scheduled to be lifted by end-August.

Muhyiddin also expects the nation to be able to deliver up to 300,000 doses of vaccines per day in the coming months, en route to reaching herd immunity by December. Malaysia exceeded the 200,000 daily vaccination mark yesterday.

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