When it came to the Budget discussion, the Cabinet clumsily sought the King's help, a King whom it would repeatedly disappoint! On Budget Day, the cabinet had just 111 out of 220 votes in its favor (two MPs having died), well short of the absolute "majority" required by any prime minister for a budget. If you closely examine Art.43, you will see this. Supporters of the PN use Art. 62(3) to claim that a "simple majority" is sufficient. That may be true for regular legislation, but not for budget-related supply bills. Under my opinion, none of the three preconditions in Art. 150, which constituted a "grave danger" to the country, existed when the Cabinet proceeded to declare the Emergency. When the Cabinet could have used existing laws to combat the pandemic, such as properly enforcing the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (‘PCIDA'), or failing that, the National Security Council Act, the Cabinet chose to avoid doing so by turning a public health issue into an unnecessary Emergency.
The King requested that the Cabinet present the Emergency Proclamation and the Emergency Laws to Parliament on more than five times, but the Cabinet refused. The government went even farther to circumvent Article 150(3), which required the Proclamation and Emergency Laws to be presented before Parliament, by creating its own set of regulations [The Emergency Laws]. Illegally, it halted all meetings of parliament. It even went so far as to pass a legislation declaring any law that contradicted these provisions to be "ineffective." Section 18 of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 contains this information. On July 26, the Cabinet stunned an incredulous nation by announcing that it had revoked the Emergency laws without even informing the King, let alone parliament, despite the fact that the Cabinet lacked constitutional authority to do so and had done so before the ‘laying before Parliament procedure' under Art.150 had been completed.
The Deputy Speaker announced Parliament had to be shut down permanently due of Covid-19 on the 26th and 27th of July 2021, when it could no longer withdraw from the unlawful position it had placed itself in. This is a common justification for avoiding a majority vote in the House of Commons. It was a regulation that was more respected in its violation during durian parties and big gatherings in leaders' homes, while the rest of the nation was compelled to follow social distance under threat of criminal penalties. A building may only be shut down to ‘disinfect' it under the PCIDA. Buildings do not contract Covid and perish as a result of it. People do it all the time. You are aware of this. Parliament, on the other hand, is shut down at critical constitutional times.
On July 29th, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the PN government "had more over 110 MPs' support" and that this was sufficient to keep it in power. He didn't say what numbers they had since he didn't want to give them away. The fact that he mentioned it indicated that the government lacked a majority. He would not have had to say anything if the government had a majority. A large number of UMNO MPs defected only a few days ago (03 August 2021). Despite this, the Cabinet is still attempting to maintain power in an unlawful manner. It adjourns the legislative session since the Constitution does not provide such authority. Despite the Cabinets' poor, ill-timed, and ineffective efforts, the epidemic has worsened. The Cabinet has repeatedly shown that it lacks leadership qualities and is incapable of steering the country out of crisis.
The ultimate cause is that at least 8 UMNO MPs officially withdrew their support for Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin on August 3. His support has dwindled to between 97 and 103 members of Parliament. He has obviously lost his legislative mandate. Why should the country suffer until September for the sake of a tiny group of MPs who have consistently violated the electorate's legitimate expectations, the Constitution, and the legislation they created?
It's time to step down!
Comments
Post a Comment