A Plea To His Majesty Please Do Not Dissolve Parliament

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Our political system has not failed; it is deliberately being subverted by the pursuit of power and narrow self-interests.
Given the almost daily statements from politicians of all stripes juxtaposed with the making and breaking of political alliances, our political landscape has become so fluid and riddled with uncertainty.
The sad result of distilling the utterances of the major political players is that there are little or no ideological differences between them. In fact, the commonality between them is greater, which is the lustful compulsion to advance self-interest at the expense of the nation.
The shifting stances of these political bedfellows and the quest for power and position may well result in a constitutional burden on His Majesty, our King.
The thrust of this plea to His Majesty has its source in the expectations of the ordinary, reasonable Malaysian.
The majority of Malaysians are not interested in the recurrent political power plays. For now, we are not interested in who holds the levers of power in our country. Our primary concerns are the twin challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant economic burdens.
As the pandemic worsens, with the absence of any effective vaccine and with the dire prospects of our economy, the last thing Malaysians need is another general election.
His Majesty may be called upon again to exercise his constitutional powers and responsibilities in respect of the political leadership of our country.
This plea to His Majesty is that as between the choices His Majesty may be required to make, a decision to dissolve Parliament and cause fresh elections may be the worst decision for the well-being of our nation.
Malaysia simply cannot afford to have another general election. For now, our entire focus should be on the health of our people and the health of our economy and nothing else.
It may be comforting for Malaysians to know that notwithstanding our Constitutional provisions, His Majesty remains the chief executive of the Federation of Malaysia.
It is hoped that in the final reckoning our country would be measured by our gross domestic product and not by the gross domestic misery of our people.
 
Watson Peters, a practising advocate & solicitor for more than three decades, is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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