Bastian Pius Vendargon said the Cabinet’s earlier insistence that the EOs had been lawfully revoked, albeit without the express consent of the King, was an erroneous proposition in law.
“Now that the Emergency has ended in Malaysia save for the territory of Sarawak, it is recognised that under the provisions of Article 150(3) of the Federal Constitution, only Parliament can revoke the EOs once they are tabled,” he told FMT in a text message.
The lawyer said this in response to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that with the Emergency ending on Aug 1, the issue regarding the revocation of the EOs by the King no longer arose.
Muhyiddin said the EOs would be brought to the Dewan Rakyat in September to be debated, in line with the King’s decree on the matter.
“This motion will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow and it is hoped it will resolve the polemic surrounding the revocation of the EOs harmoniously and constitutionally,” the prime minister added.
Vendargon said while it was an admission of the correct position, it created its own problems.
“The EOs still have effect for six months from the end of the Emergency period. The public are forced to rethink their position on the need to comply with the EOs which they were earlier told by their executive had been revoked,” he added.
He said it did leave a bad taste in the mouth on something as important and fundamental as the need to comply with the rule of law and the Constitution for good governance.
Worst of all, he said, having insisted that the revocation of the EOs was in accordance with the law in an earlier statement, thus slighting the King, this present stance was diametrically opposed to the earlier position.
“It is perhaps time for men of honour to do the right thing and not merely postpone the problems to a September sitting of Parliament as suggested,” he said.
Another lawyer, Abdul Shukor Ahmad, described Muhyiddin’s statement as a “volte-face” (a complete U-turn).
He said the King was right to order the executive to lay the emergency proclamation and EOs for debate in the Dewan Rakyat.
“The King actually wanted Parliament to take a constitutional audit in keeping with the rule of law and spirit of the Constitution,” Shukor said.
He said the King was very well aware of Article 43, in that the Cabinet must be held responsible and accountable to Parliament.
Ties between the Muhyiddin administration and the Palace were strained after it was revealed last Thursday that the King did not consent to the EOs being revoked before being debated in Parliament.
Law minister Takiyuddin Hassan had earlier announced in Parliament that the emergency laws had been revoked on Jan 21 by the Cabinet.
This led to questions from MPs on whether the King had given his consent, a query that Takiyuddin refused to answer citing the Dewan Rakyat speaker’s ruling for him to explain the matter only on Aug 2, the last day of the five-day sitting.