KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): Veteran politician Lim Kit Siang said today Malaysians are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel of the Covid-19 pandemic after the Conference of Rulers' special meeting yesterday during which Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the Rulers decided that Parliament should be convened as soon as possible to enable lawmakers to discuss ways to win the war against the pandemic and rejuvenate the country’s economy.
In a statement today, Kit Siang, who is a DAP committee member and the Iskandar Puteri Member of Parliament, said the Conference of Rulers' meeting had set a good example, which must be followed in word and spirit by all Malaysians.
"Let us put aside our differences, whether political or otherwise, and single-mindedly win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The stand of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers that Parliament and the various state assemblies should be convened as soon as possible should be endorsed by all Malaysians.
"Malaysians now have only one issue in mind — how to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effect on the life, economy and society in Malaysia, especially to end the string of unnecessary and avoidable Covid-19 deaths, which had reached 4,142 cases of fatalities [as of] yesterday, hitting three-digit figures in four days in June.
"Let Malaysians show the world that we can win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and that we have the wartime mentality to unite against a common foe in the Covid-19 pandemic, which is killing Malaysians every day and threatening to destroy the very fabric of the nation,” Kit Siang said.
He said Malaysians do not want any constitutional crisis but instead a single-minded focus by every Malaysian to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Kit Siang, the aim to win the war against Covid-19 must remain the nation’s single-minded focus whether it takes one or two years.
Yesterday, Bernama reported that Yang di-Pertuan Agong was of the view that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible and that the government must act firmly to accelerate the Covid-19 vaccination process to achieve herd immunity.
It was reported that Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said Al-Sultan Abdullah expressed this after weighing the views of all political party leaders, the Independent Special Committee on Emergency 2021 as well as briefings by experts and government agencies.
“His Majesty expressed the view that Parliament must sit as soon as possible to allow the Emergency Ordinance and the National Recovery Plan to be debated by the members of Dewan Rakyat,” Ahmad Fadil was quoted as saying in a statement yesterday.
It was reported that the view was expressed after Al-Sultan Abdullah chaired the Special Discussion of the Malay Rulers at Istana Negara yesterday.
Ahmad Fadil reportedly said His Majesty was well aware of Parliament’s role as an important platform for the elected representatives to discuss various issues, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic.
“His Majesty is of the view that the Dewan Rakyat members will be able to discuss matters concerning government expenditure to help people in need and to revive the country’s economy,” Ahmad Fadil said.