Don't drag us into another round of political uncertainty - Agong
PARLIAMENT | Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, in his royal address to Parliament, urged MPs not to drag the country into another round of political uncertainty.
"I would like to advise not to drag this country into another political uncertainty at a time when the people are facing hardship as a result of the (Covid-19) pandemic.
"It is also for this reason my government had decided to set the Parliament sitting for one day with my speech as the only agenda," he said...
PARLIAMENT | Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, in his royal address to Parliament, urged MPs not to drag the country into another round of political uncertainty.
"I would like to advise not to drag this country into another political uncertainty at a time when the people are facing hardship as a result of the (Covid-19) pandemic.
"It is also for this reason my government had decided to set the Parliament sitting for one day with my speech as the only agenda," he said.
The ruler also urged MPs to set aside their animosity.
"Difference of opinion should lead to new ideas to unite the country, not otherwise. MPs must show political maturity and that they appreciate the people's plight."
The king added that MPs should not touch on religious and racial sensitivities or the position of Malay rulers.
The government bench slammed their table in agreement.
Earlier, the Agong noted that the country had undergone a political crisis in late February.
The ruler said he had initially convinced Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad not to resign as prime minister but to no avail and eventually accepted his resignation with sadness.
He said after a process to establish who the MPs support, he found that Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin commanded the majority.
"The national political crisis cannot be allowed to become drawn out without an end. After a process in line with the Federal Constitution, I found that Muhyiddin Yassin commanded the majority among members of the Dewan Rakyat and was therefore appointed as the 8th prime minister," he said.
The king thanked MPs and the people for their maturity in allowing the process to happen and urged Muhyiddin's government to be responsible, honest and not neglect the people's welfare.
Mahathir, who is the Bersatu chairperson, said he had resigned after his party insisted on forming a new government with BN and other parties, later referred to as Perikatan Nasional.
Mahathir had insisted on remaining within the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
Under Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin's leadership, he took the party out of Harapan, leading to the Harapan government's collapse.
Muhyiddin was also aided by defections from PKR led by then PKR deputy president Azmin Ali.
Harapan, which is still cooperating with Mahathir's faction even though Bersatu had officially left the coalition, has indicated that they intend to challenge Muhyiddin's government.
They accused Muhyiddin of not commanding majority support and is preventing any attempts to test his majority by limiting the sitting to one day with no other agenda apart from the royal address.
The government maintained that it is doing this as countermeasures against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.