Muhyiddin should break silence after Takiyuddin's 'backtrack', says Kit Siang

DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang has asked Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to make a firm statement on whether or not the Special Independent Emergency Committee (SIEC) would be the only authoritative body to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on whether to extend the emergency on Aug 1.

He said that contradictory statements on the issue by de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan amounted to backtrack and Muhyiddin needed to step in to clear up the matter.

“Takiyuddin has backtracked from his stand that it is the cabinet’s responsibility to advise the Agong on whether or not the emergency should be extended, but this is not good enough so long as Muhyiddin keeps his silence.

“I would advise the entire 19-member Special Independent Committee headed by Arifin Zakaria to ask for a meeting with the prime minister and secure an assurance from him that it is the SIEC and not the cabinet or designated minister who will advise the Agong on whether to extend the emergency on Aug 1,” Lim, the Iskandar Puteri MP, said.

He warned that if this matter is not settled soon, the issue could become “the crown of all Covid-19 SOP flip-flops, U-turns and double-standards by the Perikatan Nasional government.”

“Takiyuddin’s backtrack does not commit the cabinet in any way not to exercise its powers under Article 40 of the Malaysian Constitution to advise the Agong on whether to extend the emergency on August 1 and where the Agong is constitutionally required to act on the cabinet’s advice.

“Takiyuddin only said that the government has never interfered in the 19-member SIEC’s one job - to advise the Agong on when the emergency should end - but what is the need for the government to interfere with the SIEC’s work when, from Takiyuddin’s standpoint, the SIEC is utterly irrelevant and immaterial as it is the advice of the cabinet or the designated minister, which the Agong should follow?

“If Muhyiddin is not prepared to give to the SIEC the assurance that it is the SIEC’s advice, which will have the final say on the issue, the SIEC might as well be disbanded,” added Lim.

Yesterday, Takiyuddin claimed that portions of his press statement on the role of the cabinet in matters related to the emergency law had been taken out of context.

He insisted that the government has never interfered in the 19-member SIEC’s one job - to advise the Agong when the emergency should end.

“I would like to reiterate the government’s commitment and reassurance that it would abide by all provisions of the law in carrying out its duties while deciding on any emergency related matters, including to acknowledge all mechanisms created under the law.

“In other words, the government fully recognises the existence of the SIEC established under Section 2(1) of the Emergency Ordinance 2021,” Takiyuddin said in a statement.

The day before, he had said it was the cabinet’s responsibility to advise the Agong on whether or not the emergency should be extended beyond its initial August deadline.

He said this in response to a report quoting Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as saying that only the Agong had the discretion to extend the emergency. - Mkini

✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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