Harapan: PM should resign if king is not advised to reopen Parliament soon
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should resign if he does not advise the king to reopen Parliament soon, said the Pakatan Harapan presidential council.
Delaying the reopening of Parliament also makes Muhyiddin look weak, the council added.
"If the prime minister continues to dally or give excuses to delay Parliament reconvening, it does not only mean that he is sidelining His Majesty's views.
"It also gives the impression that the prime minister has lost (the Dewan Rakyat's) confidence to continue leading.
"And if the prime minister continues to refuse to advise the king immediately, he should do the honourable thing and resign," the council members said.
The statement was jointly signed by the heads of PKR (Anwar Ibrahim), Amanah (Mohamad Sabu), and DAP (Lim Guan Eng).
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday expressed his opinion that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible.
However, as per the Federal Constitution, it is the prime minister who must advise the king 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.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin announced that Parliament would reconvene when Malaysia enters the third phase of the government's Covid-19 exit plan.
According to the 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 will be met in September.
De facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan had argued that the reopening of Parliament in September is considered "soon".
In a separate statement today, Klang MP Charles Santiago said the palace's views were bold and "takes a whack" at Muhyiddin.
Hence, he said Muhyiddin should resign immediately.
"Muhyiddin has failed as the top-most leader in the country and the only graceful thing left for him to do is to step down.
"We are seeing unprecedented levels of xenophobia in the country, manufactured to deflate attention from the government’s ineptitude.
"And so, I call for the prime minister to resign with immediate effect and for Parliament to reconvene urgently," the DAP lawmaker said.
