You caused the mess too, Khalid tells Umno leaders
PETALING JAYA: Umno and its leaders are equally responsible for the “mess created by Muhyiddin and Azmin Ali” and cannot wash their hands of the Perikatan Nasional government’s failures, says Khalid Samad. During a forum on the proclamation of emergency today, The “Tamat Darurat” committee chairman said Umno can choose…
PETALING JAYA: Umno and its leaders are equally responsible for the “mess created by Muhyiddin and Azmin Ali” and cannot wash their hands of the Perikatan Nasional government’s failures, says Khalid Samad.
During a forum on the proclamation of emergency today, The “Tamat Darurat” committee chairman said Umno can choose to officially withdraw its support for the Prime Minister, but still wanted to prioritise its own interests.
“One of the options (to prove the government does not have the numbers) is for Umno MPs to officially declare, by way of statutory declarations (SD), that they withdraw their support.
“Then, the current government will naturally fall. The King will be able to see that the government does not command the majority.
“But Umno wants to take care of its own interests. So, don’t wash your hands of the matter,” said Khalid, who is also Shah Alam MP.
Earlier this week, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said it was unfair of certain parties to blame Umno or link it to the failures of the Perikatan Nasional-led government.
In a Facebook post, Zahid explained that while it was true there were several Umno MPs and ministers in the government, he said the party was not involved in policy-making.
Meanwhile, former Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Yusof called for Parliament to resume, saying that Article 150 of the Federal Constitution states that the declaration of emergency and its ordinances must be tabled in parliament.
“You can’t use the logic that just because this is a ‘special emergency’ and because it has a shelf life, it does not have to be tabled in Parliament. This is not in line with the fundamentals of the Constitution.”
“Parliament must be called to sit so our parliamentary democracy system can function properly.”
He said that even though the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may have discretion in proclaiming the Emergency, ending it would depend on advice from the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
“In the issue of ending the Emergency, the King must act on advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet.
“Here is where our role lies, as the rakyat and for the MPs, as MPs, to convince the YDPA, the Prime Minister, and the cabinet that this is what the constitution requires.
“The people are observing – they are not stupid. They are all informed, especially the youths. They are observing that democracy must be returned and the country must be healed so we can live in peace and harmony. Parliament must reconvene.” — Free Malaysia Today