In dramatic U-turn, embattled Malaysian PM Muhyiddin says parliament will convene on July 26

Name: Malaysia goes into total lockdown amid worsening Covid-19 outbreak
Uploaded: 2021-07-05T09:38:24.000Z
Duration: 1 min 20 s
Description: Malaysia goes into total lockdown amid worsening Covid-19 outbreak

The announcement follows rare public pressure from the country’s king for the legislature to sit and discuss Kuala Lumpur’s pandemic-related policies

Parliament has been suspended since January, when Muhyiddin obtained royal assent for a national state of emergency to deal with Covid-19

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Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during a March 2020 press conference. Photo: AP

Bhavan Jaipragas

Published: 5:38pm, 5 Jul 2021Updated: 8:55pm, 5 Jul 2021

Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s embattled prime minister, has said the country’s suspended parliament will convene on July 26 – a dramatic retreat from his previous stance that the legislature could only meet in September at the earliest.

In a Monday statement, Muhyiddin said the latest sitting of the bicameral legislature “aims to explain the national recovery plan to the MPs and amend the laws and rules necessary for a hybrid session of parliament”.

The lower house, the Dewan Rakyat, will sit from July 26 to August 2, while the upper house, the Dewan Negara, will sit from August 3-5.

The U-turn follows the exertion of rare public pressure on the government by Malaysia’s constitutional monarch, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, for the legislature to sit “as soon as possible” to scrutinise the government’s pandemic-related policies.

The Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara have been suspended since January, when Muhyiddin obtained royal assent for a state of national emergency to deal with the severe Covid-19 situation in the country. New infections have spiralled in recent weeks, with the country’s caseload now standing at 785,039.

Until Monday’s announcement, the government had repeatedly insisted that a sitting of parliament during the emergency was unfeasible. It had swatted away suggestions for a hybrid sitting involving some members participating remotely.

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Malaysia goes into total lockdown amid worsening Covid-19 outbreak

In response, members of the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition accused the government of using the public health crisis as an excuse to avoid a showdown in parliament.