King's wish for Parliament to reopen soon in line with govt's efforts - PAS

PAS believes that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's opinion that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible is in line with Putrajaya's efforts.

"PAS holds high His Majesty's view that the government should convene Parliament immediately (segera), hasten vaccination and give importance for a stable and solid government functioning effectively to combat Covid-19 and heal the economy.

"PAS sees that this is in line with efforts being implemented by the federal government," PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said in a statement today.

Tuan Ibrahim is also the environment and water minister.

Interpretations of the King's views have led to heated debates, with Perikatan Nasional critics arguing it meant Parliament should convene as quickly as possible.

The palace earlier today posted a graphic on Facebook which put in bold the King's view that Parliament should convene "as soon as possible" in bold. 

The post - which gained almost 3,000 shares - was deleted at around noon. It was reuploaded at 4.30pm without the bolding the words "as soon as possible".

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak remarked in a separate post, that this appeared to be a "hint" from the palace. His post has also been deleted.

However, de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan - who is also from PAS - argued that reopening Parliament in September fulfilled the King's wishes.

As per the Federal Constitution, it is the prime minister who must advise the Agong on when Parliament should convene.

The Dewan Rakyat's Standing Orders also state that the prime minister will decide, at least 28 days in advance, when the Lower House should meet.

The September timeline for reopening Parliament was based on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's remarks that the House would convene once the country reaches Phase Three of its Covid-19 exit plan.

Malaysia will enter Phase Three when it has less than 2,000 daily Covid-19 cases, Intensive Care Unit capacity at moderate levels and with 40 percent of the population totally vaccinated.

The government estimates that these targets would be met in September.