Dewan Rakyat adjourns special meeting to 2.30 pm after uproar following Istana Negara statement

KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat adjourned its special meeting to 2.30 pm today following a 15-minute break from 12.30 pm as an uproar ensued after the MPs learned of an Istana Negara statement on the government-announced July 21 revocation of emergency ordinances.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, who was in the chair then, cited Standing Order 12(2) to adjourn the meeting for 15 minutes after which he again took the chair and adjourned the meeting to 2.30 pm.

Standing Order 12 (2) says ... the "Yang Dipertua (Speaker) may at any time suspend the sitting for a stated time".

"I have decided to stretch this meeting until 1 pm, and the meeting will resume at 2.30 pm," he said.

An uproar ensued in the House after Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) raised the matter of the Istana Negara statement uploaded onto the palace official Facebook account.

The statement said Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had expressed utmost disappointment over a statement made last Monday in Parliament that all ordinances made under the ongoing emergency had been revoked without His Majesty's consent.

His Majesty stressed that the application for the revocation of all emergency ordinances had been made in haste without presentation to Parliament.

The King also stressed that the contradictory and misleading statements in Parliament (by the government) not only failed to respect the principle of the rule of law contained in the Rukun Negara but also ignored His Majesty's functions and powers as the Head of State as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

Anwar, in his remarks, said the Istana Negara statement clearly stated that the government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had violated the principles of the Federal Constitution and did not respect the royal institution.

Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Puchong) questioned why Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who had made the announcement (on the revocation of the ordinances), was not allowed to reply as it was a serious matter.

With the meeting becoming further heated up with pressure from MPs wanting a response to the Istana Negara statement, Tan Sri Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) proposed to Mohd Rashid to have the House adjourned.

"This is a serious matter. Often on controversial matters like this, let the Dewan (House) adjourn first. That's the best decision," he suggested, and several MPs expressed support for the proposal.

-- BERNAMA