Can King Call Parliament Sitting No Says Ex Judge Yes Says Lawyer

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Gopal Sri Ram says the King has to act on the advice of the Prime Minister but Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin says that under Section 14 of the Emergency Ordinance, the King can act on his own.PETALING JAYA: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong must act on the advice of the prime minister or his cabinet to reconvene Parliament although the nation is still under Emergency, a retired judge said.
Gopal Sri Ram said the King’s decision was not subject to any legal challenge but any advice given to him by the government could be reviewed by the courts.
“The Prime Minister’s advice to the King is justiciable (subject to legal challenge).
“A mandamus order can be obtained to compel the Cabinet to advise the King to convene Parliament if it is shown that the advice was unreasonable,” he told FMT.
Sri Ram said Article 40 (1) of the Federal Constitution also states the King as the constitutional monarch has to exercise his functions under the supreme law of the land or Federal law, in accordance with advice given by a minister or the Cabinet.
“Federal law here means any act of Parliament or ordinance promulgated during an emergency,” he said.
The former Federal Court judge was responding to Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad’s views that the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 promulgated in January allowed the King to call for Parliament to reconvene on a suitable date without the advice of the prime minister.
Khalid, who is chairman of the opposition’s Tamat Darurat committee, cited Section 14 of the ordinance.
Section 14 (1) (a) stated: “For so long as the emergency is in force, the provisions relating to the summoning, proroguing and dissolution of Parliament in the Federal Constitution shall not have effect.”
Section 14 (1) (b) also stated that : “The Parliament shall be summoned, prorogued and dissolved on a date as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong thinks appropriate.”
Taking this into account, lawyer Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin said he supported the position taken by Khalid as provided under the provision.
“The ordinance takes precedence over the constitution since we are under emergency,” he said, adding that the King alone could decide on the appropriate time to reconvene the Federal legislature.
Hussein said he was also taking the contrary view in interpreting the legal position compared to de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.
The King, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, said yesterday that he wanted Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible, as it would allow MPs to debate the Emergency Ordinance and the government’s national recovery plan.
The Malay rulers, who met yesterday, also said there was no need for the nation to remain under a state of emergency after Aug 1 and wanted state assemblies to also reconvene as soon as possible. - FMT

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