BARRING lawmakers from entering Parliament violated an order issued by the Dewan Rakyat to the Inspector-General of Police, said the Pakatan Harapan presidential council.

In a statement, the council referred a motion submitted by Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin in July 2020 during the commencement of the second parliamentary meeting, that the IGP must ensure no roads leading to the Dewan Rakyat are obstructed.

“The IGP must make sure that no one shall stop the MPs from entering or exiting the Dewan Rakyat, there shall be no disturbance in or near the Dewan and the Parliament secretary shall inform the IGP of this order,” said the PH presidential council, citing the motion.

The statement by the council was signed by Anwar Ibrahim, Mohamad Sabu and Lim Guan Eng.

On Monday morning, opposition MPs gathered on the road leading to Parliament to protest the postponement of the Dewan Rakyat sitting.

They were initially barred from entering by police, including FRU personnel.

The group led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim then walked to Dataran Merdeka, where speeches were made criticising the Perikatan Nasional government.

The government was scheduled to explain its cancellation of emergency ordinances without the King’s consent and without tabling the ordinances in either House for debate.

However, on Saturday, the Prime Minister’s Office called off yesterday’s sitting, citing Covid-19 risks after a number of cases were detected in parliamentary buildings.

Meanwhile, the council said that the action of stopping and intimidating the MPs, who were carrying out their duties in accordance with the law, also breached Section 124 of the Penal Code, which is preventing an MP, or a member of a legislative assembly or state executive council from exercising their duties lawfully.

“You can be sent to prison for seven years or fine,” the council added, quoting the Penal Code.

The council expressed regret with the action taken by the police, adding that the officers involved were clearly being manipulated to stop the opposition from entering Parliament.

“Apart from the police, we are also disappointed with Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, who allowed this order of the Dewan Rakyat to be ignored.

“At the same time, the speaker allowed the Public Accounts Committee to enter Parliament and to have a discussion. This shows that the speaker is also to be blamed for not allowing MPs to be inside the Dewan Rakyat,” the council added.

The council said the MPs intended to enter Parliament in accordance with the king’s decree, with the purpose of debating the emergency.

“The government has committed treason against the king, who wanted the ordinance to be debated and tabled,” said the council. – August 3, 2021.