FORMER Jasin parliamentary coordinator Khairuddin Abu Hassan has filed a suit against Muhyiddin Yassin and the government to challenge the prime minister’s act of advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare a state of emergency to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Khairuddin, as the plaintiff, filed the suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, through Messrs Law Practice of Rafique, and named Muhyiddin and the government as the first and second defendants respectively.

In his originating summons, Khairuddin, among others, wants the court to decide on four legal and constitutional issues over the emergency proclamation.

On January 12, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, upon the cabinet’s advice, proclaimed a state of emergency, to be enforced up to August 1, as a proactive measure to contain the worsening Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

The declaration was made based on Clause (1), Article 150 of the federal constitution, which states that if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied a grave emergency exists, whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue an emergency order, making therein a declaration to that effect.

The Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia has posed a major threat to people’s livelihood. – Bernama, January 18, 2021.