Asean MPs call for Malaysia’s Parliament to reconvene

[superadmin]

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today urged Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to convene a full Parliament session as soon as possible.

The call followed Umno’s pullout from the Perikatan Nasional-led (PN) government yesterday as well as news reports and images of federal lawmakers being barred entry to the Parliament building since Monday after the abrupt cancellation of an ongoing special sitting of both Houses, purportedly due to a Covid-19 outbreak last week.

“Southeast Asian parliamentarians have expressed alarm about the new suspension of Parliament in Malaysia after months of unchecked ruling by the government.

“The sight of dozens of Opposition MPs being prevented from entering Parliament by riot police should be a major embarrassment to the administration of Prime Minister Muhyiddin, which instead of providing leadership when it is needed most, has hidden behind the pandemic so it can maintain its increasingly fragile hold on power,” APHR board member and former MP in Cambodia Mu Sochua said in a statement.


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