Ismail Sabri: 14-day ultimatum to reopen Parliament not by Umno supreme council
The 14-day ultimatum to reopen Parliament came from Umno’s political bureau and not the Supreme Council, clarified party vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said while the bureau was entitled to voice its views, it would only be considered a suggestion, and the party’s official stance can only be decided by the Supreme Council.
“That is the political bureau’s views, not the Supreme Council's... the one that can decide on policy is the Supreme Council,” he told reporters at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
The 14-day notice was stated by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday, after he chaired the political bureau meeting the night before.
Zahid said failure to reconvene Parliament would be viewed as insolence towards the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree and disrespect for the Conference of Rulers.
This is after the king opined that the House should meet as soon as possible, while Putrajaya aims to meet that goal in September.
Zahid said if the 14-day deadline is not met, the Umno Supreme Council would convene to discuss its next step.
Asked what this next step would be, Ismail Sabri reiterated that the Umno Supreme Council had not discussed the matter yet.
However, Ismail Sabri - who is also defence minister - said there was no contradiction in that the party believes Parliament should be reopened.
Zahid’s faction in Umno has positioned itself in opposition to the Perikatan Nasional-led government, putting it at odds with those who are serving as ministers in the administration.
However, despite being critical of PN and cutting ties with anchor party Bersatu, Umno’s stance is that it would remain in government until Parliament is dissolved.
Meanwhile, Padang Rengas MP Nazri Abdul Aziz told Agenda Daily that the 14-day deadline issued by Zahid “didn’t make sense”.
This is as under the Dewan Rakyat's Standing Orders, the prime minister must give 28-days advance notice for when Parliament should reconvene.
Putrajaya’s September timeline for reopening Parliament was based on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s remarks that the House would convene once the country reaches Phase Three of its Covid-19 exit plan.
Malaysia will enter Phase Three when it has less than 2,000 daily Covid-19 cases, intensive care unit capacity at moderate levels and with 40 percent of the population totally vaccinated.
The government estimates that these targets would be met in September.
