DE facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan should honourably resign or be sacked by the administration over his contradicting position on the convening of Parliament, said Lim Guan Eng.

The DAP secretary-general said Takiyuddin had performed “linguistic acrobatics” by trying to spin the royal decree of Parliament to convene “as soon as possible”.

The Kota Baru MP had earlier said the king’s decree did not specify a date and that it conforms to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s suggestion of Parliament convening in September.

“Takiyuddin is also incompetent for stating that it is the cabinet that will decide whether to advise the king on the extension of emergency, contrary to the Special Independent Committee on the Emergency 2021 set up under the Emergency Ordinances.

“Despite his irresponsible and dishonest stance opposing the convening of Parliament before August 1, he shamelessly issued a statement yesterday that Parliament will indeed be convened before August 1.

“How many more mistakes must Malaysians suffer from a minister who refuses to act in accordance with the law?” the Bagan MP said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Takiyuddin said Muhyiddin had agreed for the Parliament to convene before August 1.

The de facto law minister said the date of the meeting will be decided by the cabinet at its meeting on July 7.

“The prime minister, as the head of Parliament, has decided to call for a Parliament sitting as soon as possible, before August 1, 2021,” he said in a statement yesterday.

“This will be finalised during the July 7 cabinet meeting.

“The federal government abides by the king’s views on all matters pertaining to the administration of the country, including those related to the convening of Parliament.”

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, in a message to the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara heads, has reiterated his earlier decree that Parliament should convene “as soon as possible”.

In a statement on June 29, Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the Agong has conveyed this to lower house speaker Azhar Azizan Harun and upper house president Rais Yatim during audience that morning. 

Lim today praised Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim’s position on convening the Parliament and said the de facto law minister could learn from the former Jelebu MP.

“If he is not sacked for such acts of loyalty, at least he should switch positions with Rais. Rais had openly contradicted Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) official position, stating instead that the Emergency Ordinance 2021 gives the king complete authority to recall Parliament.

“With Rais as de facto law minister in charge of Parliament, he would do a much better job to give effect to the smooth convening of Parliament to debate both the PN government’s failure to manage the Covid-19 crisis and the Emergency Ordinances as per the king’s decree. 

“The nation needs leaders who are committed to upholding the law for the benefit of the people, not politicians who are interested only in protecting their perks and privileges of office,” he said. – July 3, 2021.