BY definition, a proclamation is a subsidiary legislation [section 3 of the Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967 (Act 388)].

Cyrus Das, in his doctoral thesis, Emergency Power and Parliamentary Government in Malaysia: Constitutionalism in a New Democracy, said the the declaration of emergency is a legal instrument and must be published in the Gazette, and takes effect only upon publication in the Gazette.

By law [section 18(1)(a) of Act 388] all Emergency Ordinances (EOs) promulgated by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Agong) under Article 150(2B) of the federal constitution must be published in the Gazette.

Article 150(3) then mandates that the EOs shall continue in full force and effect as if it is an act of Parliament until it is revoked or annulled or until it lapses.

Clearly, the EOs may be repealed or revoked by the Agong. The principle is this: the authority promulgating the EO is the authority to revoke them.

The repeal must also be promulgated by the same authority – that is, the Agong – and published in the Gazette.

So, the Dewan Rakyat – and the whole country for that matter – must be surprised, if not shocked, by the announcement of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) Takiyuddin Hassan in the Dewan Rakyat today.

“The government has decided to cancel all the emergency ordinances made during the emergency. As such, the issue of annulment is no longer relevant,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.

As rightly reported by The Malaysian Insight, no repeal of the EO has been published in the Gazette. – July 26, 2021.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.