PM: Parliament can reconvene in September or October with strict SOPs

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has given his commitment that Parliament will reconvene when the nation enters Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan in September or October.

Under the recovery plan, which consists of four phases of exit strategy, Muhyiddin said Phase 3 will be achieved when the average daily case of Covid-19 drops to below 2,000, the public health system is at a comfortable level with the decline in utilisation of the intensive care units to adequate level, and when 40% of the population has received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

In a nationally televised address on the Covid-19 exit plan, the prime minister said the threshold is expected to be reached by the end of August at the earliest.

"I would like to give my commitment that the parliamentary proceedings can be held in this phase (Phase 3) around September or October in accordance with strict SOPs. This is my position from the beginning: Parliamentary democracy can function again at the appropriate time, that is once Covid-19 cases are under control and we have almost achieved herd immunity. I will continue to uphold the principles of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy," he said.

"There should be no parties who deliberately cause unrest and confusion among the people so as to interfere with the main task of the government to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

Parliament, as well as state legislative assemblies, last sat in mid-December 2020. Lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat approved the government's Budget 2021 with 111 supporting the motion and 108 against.

In March, Muhyiddin said he would advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament to make way for the 15th general election once the pandemic was over.

"You are free to choose and that is what democracy is all about," he said then.

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