PUTRAJAYA’S failure to act on the Conference of Rulers’ advice to reopen federal and state legislatures could trigger a constitutional crisis, said Lim Kit Siang.

The veteran DAP lawmaker said the cabinet should instead take advantage of the rulers’ decisions to start a new beginning to win the war against Covid-19.

“Malaysians do not want any constitutional crisis in any form but a single-minded focus by every Malaysian, whether in the executive or the legislature, to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic – and this must remain the nation’s single-minded focus whether it takes one or two years,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said in a statement.

The two main decisions the Conference of Rulers made in a special meeting on Wednesday are that parliament and state assemblies should reconvene “as soon as possible” and that there is no need for the emergency to be extended beyond August 1.

Lim said it is also regrettable that the cabinet did not meet in an emergency session to act on the rulers’ decisions and call for a parliamentary meeting on Monday.

Lim’s statement stated when the prime minister announced the emergency in a live national telecast on January 12, Muhyiddin said Covid-19 cases “are on the rise and showed no signs of decline in the near future”.

“Sadly, after more than five months after the proclamation of emergency on January 11, Covid-19 infections are still on the rise and show no signs of decline in the near future. In fact, we have become worse,” he said.

“The prime minister should be aware that his repeated assurance that his government is committed to ensuring good governance has little credibility, and this is where the various parliamentary select committees can play an important role to convince Malaysians and the world that there is good governance, effective and efficient government and the rule of law in the country.

“The cabinet should act fast and show it is capable of quick, creative and nimble response to the challenges in the war against Covid-19 and not take its sweet time to respond to the two conclusions of the Conference of Rulers special meeting.” – June 18, 2021.