Agong says yet to approve revocation of Emergency Ordinances, disappointed with Takiyuddin’s premature announcement

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today said that he was “deeply saddened” by de facto law minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan’s assertion in Parliament that the Emergency Ordinances have been revoked.

The Agong also said the minister’s remarks have confused Parliament, and that the announcement was “not accurate”.

Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said that the Agong was upset with the remark by Takiyuddin in Parliament on July 26,  that the government had decided not to extend the period of Emergency and its accompanying Ordinances post-August 1.

The Agong noted today that he has not given his assent for the revocation, and that he was not informed of the matter during a virtual meeting with Takiyddin and Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun.

“Act 150(2B) read together with Act 150(3) of the Federal Constitution, clearly allocates the power to formulate and cancel the Emergency Ordinances to His Majesty.

“Therefore, His Majesty feels very saddened with the statement made in Parliament on July 26, 2021, that the government had cancelled all the Emergency Ordinances which were assented by him throughout the Emergency period, when the cancellation has not yet been approved by His Majesty.

“His Majesty also feels very saddened, as what was approved and agreed previously with Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who is the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) and Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun during the virtual audience on July 24, was to table and debate the suggestion to cancel all Emergency Ordinances in the Parliament for the purposes of annulment, was not carried out,” Ahmad Fadil, said.

In the strongly-worded statement, he said that the Agong stressed that the request to revoke all of the Emergency Ordinances effective July 21 was also done hastily without Parliament’s approval and that the contradictory statements on the matter had not only failed to uphold the sovereignty of the law, as mentioned in the Rukun Negara, but also disregarded the role and powers of the King, as the nation’s head of state.

Ahmad Fadil said that while the King understands the need to act upon the advice of the Cabinet as stipulated under Article 40(1) of the Federal Constitution, His Majesty still holds the responsibility of offering advice and criticism should any unconstitutional matters arise, “especially those who perform the functions and powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”

The King also again advised lawmakers to pay heed to the wellbeing of the people and the nation in the current special parliamentary sitting, to find solutions to the various problems plaguing the population at large, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The de facto law minister revealed in Parliament that the six Emergency Ordinances drafted and enforced during the period of Emergency were voided and annulled by the government on July 21 after a Cabinet meeting on the same date.

The matter was only announced in Parliament which caught MPs by surprise, raising questions as to the legality of the move by the government.

Questions were also raised by Opposition lawmakers over whether the government had overextended its executive powers by announcing that it had decided to revoke the Emergency Ordinances following a Cabinet meeting on July 21, instead of a formal declaration by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Opposition MPs also engaged in a war of words with Takiyuddin over the matter, after which the latter promised to offer an explanation on Monday, as instructed by Dewan Rakyat Speaker, Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun.