Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should request for an urgent sitting of Parliament to demonstrate that he commanded the support of the majority of federal lawmakers, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said.
The former Bersih 2.0 chairman cited Standing Orders 11(3) to make her case, saying the prime minister could inform the Speaker to reconvene Parliament outside of session if there were a matter of public interest that needed the attention of federal lawmakers.
“In view of the uncertainty as regards the numbers supporting the prime minister and in view of the news of a possible adjournment of the next session of Parliament, I would urge the PM to call an emergency Parliament session this week to resolve this issue satisfactorily.
“It would not only be in his interests to do so, it would be in the overriding interests of the nation.
“In the light of the uncertainty it is important and in the public interest that the PM test his majority in Parliament by calling for a special sitting,” Ambiga said in a statement.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said today that the Parliament meeting scheduled for March 9 might now be postponed.
Ariff said that he would discuss the matter with the Prime Minister’s Office to obtain confirmation and finalise a date for the next sitting.
He said that he would be writing an official letter to the prime minister on the matter tomorrow.
“Tomorrow, I will be writing to the PM to seek further information as to when the Dewan Rakyat will sit before making an announcement.
“Just wait, I myself do not know because I don’t decide the dates for Dewan Rakyat sittings,” he said when met by reporters after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Muhyiddin as the 8th prime minister of Malaysia at Istana Negara yesterday.