M’sia King: No Need for Emergency & Politicians Should ‘Stop all Politicking’


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Lest you’re not aware, it’s been rather…messy up north.

Other than having a spike in COVID-19 cases, the Parliament is also getting a tad shaky, as Government-turned-opposition (again) politician Anwar claimed to have support of enough MPs to change the Government, but didn’t provide the names of the MPs.

And the current PM, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, suggested to the King to proclaim a state of emergency in the country due to the COVID-19 cases, but some claimed that it was a political move.

Nevertheless, the decision has been made: Malaysia won’t be moving into a state of emergency.

M’sia King: No Need for Emergency & Politicians Should ‘Stop all Politicking’

Today (25 October 2020), the palace issued a statement, saying that the king “is of the opinion, that at this time, there is no need for His Majesty to implement a state of emergency in the country or any specific areas of the country.”

The Malaysian king may issue a proclamation of emergency, upon the advice of the prime minister, if he is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, economic life or public order is threatened.

(Lest you’re confused, just think of the king as the President in Singapore; some decisions have to be approved by the President, too. In Singapore, it’s the same: only the President can declare a statement of emergency.)

But the palace didn’t just stop at that.

It added, “Even so, His Majesty would like to remind politicians to immediately stop all politicking that could disrupt the stability of the government.

“Al-Sultan Abdullah is also of the opinion that there is no need for Members of Parliament to continue their irresponsible actions that may jeopardize the stability of the existing Government.”

It also said that the National Budget is “very important to the people in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and reviving the country’s economy.

“Therefore, financial allocation is very much needed by frontline staff to undergo their duties and responsibilities.”

I know you’re confused; what talking the palace? Simi National Budget?

You should’ve downloaded our app because we’ve explained it in our previous article. If not, here’s a brief summary:

What Politicking?

Should the proposed emergency go ahead, it will mean the suspension of parliament, and the National Budget, as mentioned earlier, will not be “put to vote”.

As such, it would look an attempt to hold power by the current government, though the claim has not been verified.


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Seven former presidents of the Malaysian Bar Council have also disagreed with Muhyiddin’s proposal to put Malaysia in a state of emergency.

“There is no violence, or threat to the security of our nation,” they wrote in an open letter.

“If the predominant objective of the suggested declaration is to suspend parliament, and to gain emergency powers then it will obviously be an unlawful design which, if unchecked, will disenfranchise and deceive Malaysians.”

The next session of Malaysia’s parliament will commence on 2 November 2020, with the presentation of budget scheduled for 6 November 2020.

Of course, on the other hand, it’s indeed true that the number of COVID-19 cases has spiked recently:


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Past Instances

To date, Malaysia has been under an emergency for a total of four times.

The first was all the way back in 1964, following the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation when Indonesian soldiers stepped into Malaysia.

The second was announced in September 1966, just one month after the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation concluded. Called the Sarawak Emergency, it was the first to be restricted to one state, and came after political conflicts in the region.

The third was called in 1969, and the cause was attributed to the May 13 race riots.

In November 1977, the fourth emergency was called in Kelantan, amidst a power struggle between Umno and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).


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