THE emergency ordinances promulgated this year will be tabled in the Parliament sitting scheduled for September, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.

The process to cancel the ordinances as intended by the cabinet could not proceed without the assent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, he said in a statement day.

“The process of cancelling the emergency ordinances by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as advised by the cabinet on July 23, 2021, could not be completed.

“Given that the emergency proclamation has expired on August 1, 2021, based on provisions in the federal constitution, the issue of the cancellation of the ordinances by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong no longer arises.

“Instead, in line with His Majesty’s views and article 150(3) of the federal constitution, a motion to debate and to revoke the ordinances will be brought to Parliament, which is scheduled to meet in September 2021,” Muhyiddin said.

The cabinet, which will hold its weekly meeting tomorrow, will discuss the motion, the prime minister added.

“It is hoped this will resolve the polemics that have arisen in relation to cancelling the emergency ordinances.”

Muhyiddin’s government earned a royal rebuke last week after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) Takiyuddin Hassan announced to the surprise of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat on July 26 that the cabinet had decided to cancel the ordinances effective July 21.

Istana Negara, in a statement on July 29, said the king was disappointed at the move which went against his wishes to have the ordinances tabled in both Houses of Parliament for debate.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said the government had disrespected his role and powers as monarch to enact and repeal emergency laws.

The king said he had expressly told Takiyuddin and Attorney-General Idrus Harun in a July 24 audience that the ordinances should be tabled in Parliament.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office in a counter-statement hours after the palace’s rebuke, said the government had followed the law in cancelling the ordinances after advising the constitutional monarch on the matter.

The government was to have explained the revocations to the Dewan Rakyat at a sitting yesterday but Muhyiddin over the weekend called off the sitting, citing concerns about Covid-19 transmissions after cases were detected in Parliament last week.

Critics have accused Muhyiddin of wanting to avoid a vote over the ordinance, which could be a test of his slim majority.

His statement today comes amid speculation that the king was planning to summon the Conference of Rulers to discuss the impasse over the ordinances.

The Perikatan Nasional government has courted royal displeasure throughout the emergency by ignoring requests by the king as well as the Conference of Rulers to reconvene Parliament, which was suspended by way of an emergency ordinance.

On July 15, the prime minister finally called for a special five-day briefing of the Dewan Rakyat starting July 26, and a proper sitting to be held from September 6 to 30.

This will be the first meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Parliament, to be officiated by the king. – August 3, 2021.