KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed on Wednesday (Jan 20) that the majority of MPs have asked the King to reverse royal assent for the government's seven-month-long state of emergency which began last week.
In a virtual press conference, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president said a letter was sent to the Palace on Tuesday which also requested that Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah convene a special sitting of Parliament to urgently discuss the unrelenting Covid-19 pandemic that has overwhelmed the healthcare system.
"The number of MPs who have written to the King has exceeded a majority," he said. "Not to protest, but to appeal to his grace and wisdom to review the reasons presented by the Prime Minister for the emergency."
Sultan Abdullah of Pahang assented on Jan 11 to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's request for an emergency that the government says is necessary to combat infections that have averaged nearly 3,000 daily this year.
However, critics have questioned the need for such a drastic measure, given that restrictions under the ongoing movement control order (MCO) that began on Jan 13 were sufficient to bring daily cases to single digits last year.
They accuse Tan Sri Muhyiddin of clinging to power via the emergency order, having lost his parliamentary majority after two Umno lawmakers withdrew support for his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, leaving it with the backing of just 109 out of 220 MPs. Two seats in the 222-strong federal legislature are vacant.
"I believe that this is the real reason (for the emergency), that the government is unstable, his position is not tenable anymore, he has lost the support of the majority. The opposition to the announcement of Proclamation of Emergency and the calling for an emergency session of Parliament is evidence that the majority is with the opposition," said Datuk Seri Anwar, who has repeatedly in recent months claimed to have a parliamentary majority.
The Proclamation of Emergency states that existing federal and state governments will remain in power until the order is lifted on Aug 1 - or earlier if so determined by an independent panel - with all legislative bodies suspended during this period.
But Mr Anwar argued that Parliament was needed to balance "the absolute" power conferred to the government during an emergency. As such, the opposition would also go to the courts this week to seek a ruling that Parliament should reconvene during the emergency.
He said the appeal to the King came from opposition and government MPs, "showing our readiness to cooperate to form a stable administration in the public interest, superseding narrow party political agendas".
Umno, the largest party in the PN government, had also asked lawmakers in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition earlier this week to agree to a parliamentary sitting as soon as possible, although this drew protests from some of its MPs.
