THE opposition is planning to challenge Putrajaya’s emergency declaration in court, said Anwar Ibrahim.

The opposition leader said he had earlier announced his intention to appeal to the Agong to defend the federal constitution and the rakyat from the government’s abuse of power.

“Our legal team has been instructed to prepare the application to challenge the prime minister and the government of Malaysia on their baseless declaration of a state of emergency,” he said in a Facebook post today.

Last week, the Perikatan Nasional government, led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, announced a state of emergency less than 24 hours after similarly announcing a series of lockdowns for the country.

A day later, Muhyiddin said that the state of emergency was not a coup, although Parliament, the federal constitution and any elections would be suspended.

Muhyiddin said the move would give his government more powers to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

The opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Pejuang lawmakers are planning to appeal to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to revoke the state of emergency tomorrow, several MPs told The Malaysian Insight.

“We will submit a joint appeal from PH,” said a senior Amanah leader, who declined to be named.

“I think it’s important for us to note our concerns to Yang di-Pertuan Agong directly.”

He said PH is not disputing the king’s prerogative but hopes that the Agong will reconsider the emergency order.

Anwar today urged Malaysians to not despair and play their part in fighting the raging pandemic.

“We have to keep ourselves healthy to relieve the burden on our healthcare system and the true heroes who keep it afloat against unsurmountable pressure. Random acts of kindness are the easiest and most effective demonstrations of our unified commitment towards actual solutions and a better tomorrow,” he said in the post.

“I implore us all to do our part and for our government to seek the restoration of trust that has tragically waned in the past months since this virus befell us. For the people are suffering. But we must not lose hope that our sacrifices will pay off soon enough. We must not pass over the lessons to be taken from this past year, but work to constantly to improve ourselves and each other. – January 17, 2021.