THE Special Independent Committee on Emergency to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has yet to make a final decision whether to extend or lift the current emergency, which is scheduled to come to an end on August 1, said Pakatan Harapan (PH) reps in the committee.

“To date, the committee has not finalised any decision to extend or end the emergency, to be presented to the king,” the opposition representatives said in a statement today.

The three PH representatives in the committee who signed the statement were Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR), Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Amanah) and Anthony Loke (DAP).

Since being appointed to the committee early this year, they said they have conveyed their views on a wide range of issues, including their stand that there was no need for an emergency to overcome the pandemic.

“We touched on a wide range of subjects from the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccination drive, daily deaths, hospital facilities, the country’s economy and the effects on the lives of the people.

“We also conveyed our stand that the ‘government intervention’ approach in the form of the movement-control order (MCO) and emergency were two different issues in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our position is that there is no need for an emergency to be implemented, instead a stricter implementation of the MCO is the best method,” they said.

They also called for Parliament to reconvene immediately as a check and balance mechanism in line with the principle of parliamentary democracy.

Parliament has not held any meeting since last year, following the government’s decision to declare a state of emergency on January 11, when the average number of new infections was around 2,000.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Parliament could reconvene under phase 3 of the government’s national recovery plan, which is around September or October.

The committee, chaired by former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, was formed under the Emergency (Essential Power) Ordinance 2021.

The committee comprises lawmakers from both government and opposition, including health experts and those from related fields. – June 16, 2021.