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Malaysian Prime Minister under pressure to quit following royal rebuke
The king expressed his "regret," the Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement, that the government announced the annulment of all six of the emergency ordinances before the king consented.
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Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah attends a welcoming ceremony at the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia May 18, 2020. (Malaysia Information Department/Handout via REUTERS /Shaiful Nizal Ismail)
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alaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin faced renewed pressure to resign Thursday after King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin rebuked his government for by-passing the royal consent required when revoking COVID-19 emergency ordinances.
The king expressed his "regret," the Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement, that the government announced the annulment of all six of the emergency ordinances before the king consented.
"The Federal Constitution clearly stated that the power to promulgate and revoke the emergency ordinances lies with the king," the statement said.
The monarch singled out de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan for giving an "incorrect" statement on Monday in the House of Representatives that the government had revoked the emergency ordinances on July 21.
The parliament sat for the first time this week since it was suspended in January when the country was placed under emergency rule to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Read also: Malaysia king seeks special parliamentary sitting before Aug 1
Takiyuddin had also told the parliament on Monday that emergency rule will not be extended beyond the Aug. 1 deadline.
The king disclosed that during a virtual meeting with Takiyuddin and the Attorney General Idrus Harun last Saturday, he stressed that the proposal to revoke the ordinances should be introduced and debated in the parliament. He expressed his regret that this was not complied with.
As a constitutional monarchy, the royals traditionally play a symbolic role. But the political imbroglio sparked in March last year by the collapse of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government, due to defections that saw the rise of Muhyiddin, has seen the monarchy breaking with tradition to play an adjudicatory role.
The palace statement, however, tightens the screws on Muhyiddin, who has been battling with the question of legitimacy since the day he came to power as he only controls a slim parliamentary majority.
His critics accused him of suspending parliament to avoid threats of a no-confidence vote or any proxy vote that could show he does not command the majority as he claimed.
Mahathir joined in the chorus calling for Muhyiddin to step down following the royal rebuke.
The 96-year-old longest-serving prime minister said in a statement that Muhyiddin is "responsible for this shameful act as also the rest of the Cabinet members."
"Therefore, it is incumbent upon him to resign as Prime Minister and his cabinet members must follow suit."
Pressure is also piling from within Muhyiddin's own ruling National Alliance coalition.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the president of the United Malays National Organization, the dominant party in the government, demanded Muhyiddin and Takiyuddin "resign honorably" for committing "treason against the King".
Parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he has submitted an emergency motion of no-confidence to be tabled in the House following the palace reprimand.
It is unclear whether the motion will see the light of day as the lower chamber of parliament cut short its meeting on Thursday after the bombshell from the palace and also due to a COVID-19 scare when two parliament staff tested positive for the coronavirus.
It will meet for one final day next Monday. The next session is scheduled on Sept. 6.
As rumors swirl of possible resignations, including from the prime minister himself, his deputy Ismail Sabri Yaakob insisted that the government is still intact.
"I would like to stress that the government still has the support of over 110 Members of Parliament who are still with the government of the day," he said in a statement. The lower house has a total of 222 seats.
