Will post-Aug parliament sitting lead to automatic dissolution, groups ask AG

The maximum permissible gap between one parliamentary session and another is six months according to the constitution. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Several civil society groups have urged Attorney-General Idrus Harun to make public his advice to the Cabinet on the consequences of the failure to reconvene Parliament and the state legislatures within six months of their last sittings.

In a joint statement signed by Bait al Amanah, Bersih 2.0, Engage, IDEAS, Pusat Komas, Reform and Undi18, they said the public deserved to know the AG’s constitutional advice on this material question.

“He must clarify if reconvening these legislative bodies after Aug 1, when the Emergency period expires, would result in automatic dissolution of Parliament and state legislatures,” they said in a statement.

They said Idrus’ statement last Friday touched on Article 55(1) of the Federal Constitution but conveniently avoided the key point, that is, the maximum permissible gap of six months between one parliamentary session and another.

Parliament last met on Dec 17.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong proclaimed the Emergency on Feb 12 and it was to end on Aug 1 or at an earlier time to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Article 55(1) of the Federal Constitution states that Parliament shall not allow six months to elapse between the last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first meeting in the next session.

Last week, Idrus waded into the debate on the reconvening of Parliament, saying the King must act on the advice of the Cabinet in calling for a Dewan Rakyat sitting.

After the King’s recent call for Parliament to reconvene “as soon as possible”, Idrus said it is the prime minister who must set the date, 28 days prior to the sitting.

Article 40(1) and (1A) of the Federal Constitution, he said, stipulated that the King must act on the advice of the Cabinet “unless otherwise stated”.

“The position of the Agong does not change even after an Emergency is declared.”

Idrus went on to say that while Article 55(1) empowered the King to call for Parliament to reconvene, the emergency ordinances overruled this throughout the Emergency.

The emergency ordinances, he explained, gave the King power to call for Parliament to convene on a date the King “felt was suitable”.

Earlier this month, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, said he wanted Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible to discuss issues involving Covid-19.

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Will post-Aug parliament sitting lead to automatic dissolution, groups ask AG

Civil society groups, including Bersih 2.0, Engage and IDEAS, says attorney-general Idrus Harun avoided mentioning the consequences in his statement last week.