GOVT SHOULD HAVE NEGOTIATED WITH OPPOSITION INSTEAD OF DECLARING EMERGENCY - SHAFIE

14 JAN 2021

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KOTA KINABALU: Political leaders from both sides of parliament would have agreed on a ceasefire on not to call for a general election instead of resorting to Emergency proclamation if the Perikatan Nasional (PN) first negotiated with the Opposition, said Warisan President Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.

He said the motive of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in advising the Yang DiPertuan Agong to issue the royal decree appeared to be politically driven and he opined that the rationale provided was not acceptable.

“There are sufficient existing laws to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. If there is a need to amend the Federal Constitution to avoid the Sarawak election or any by-election during a pandemic, the Perikatan Nasional Government should negotiate with the Opposition to reach a two-thirds majority to do so.

“If there is a need to legislate measures for Covid-19 pandemic, the Government should negotiate with the Opposition instead of declaring State of Emergency," he said in a statement issued today.

The former chief minister of Sabah stressed that the emergency rule should be ended so that parliamentary democracy can be restored in the shortest possible time with a negotiated peace among political leaders to avoid a general election until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He suggested that the State of Emergency was not a suitable option to address the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country because the Movement Control Order (MCO) was available and feasible.

“A State of Emergency which can lead to abuse of power is not necessary and not suitable as the current situation does not warrant it. The reasons that trigger an Emergency are when there is an existence or potential of grave and imminent threat/emergency to national security, national economic life and public order.

“The fact that the PN Government proceeded to implement the MCO, CMCO and RMCO last year speaks volumes on the absence of any ‘grave’ and ‘imminent’ threat to the nation.”

Countries that implemented restrictions on population movement similar to Malaysia’s MCO have been successful in curbing the spread of Covid-19 and these are Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and in Europe - Germany, Norway and Spain.

Furthermore, under the State of Emergency, debates on policies and legislation affecting the nation or the individual States will no longer be the prerogative of those august Houses until 1 August 2021 which will render parliament and state legislative assemblies redundant.

“The Emergency powers can also be abused to abrogate or limit the constitutional fundamental rights and liberties of individuals in this country," he said.

Shafie also stated that the proclamation of Emergency is an announcement to the whole world that Malaysia has an unstable government, and that foreign investors will have no incentive to invest and our economy will further suffer.

The local business community, he said, had already suffered as a result of restrictions due to the coronavirus and many have lost their livelihoods and many businesses and hotels have been forced to close down.

"I, therefore, call upon the minority Government to reset the button and do the right thing. We must build a nation for all, not for any individual, party, race or religion," he urged.