KOTA BARU: Pas believes that the government has a strong reason for its decision to recommend that a State of Emergency be declared in order to ramp up the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pas vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said the decision was an appropriate one given that the country is still facing a high number of new Covid-19 cases.
"Pas believes that the main reason for the State of Emergency is the pandemic, as the country has seen a drastic increase in cases.
"The second reason is the economic impact to the country. Both are reasonable causes to prompt the federal government to adopt such a move," he said.
Mohd Amar, who is also Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar, was speaking to reporters after attending the State National Security Council meeting here today.
Mohd Amar said the opposition was free to draw its own assumptions on the issue but it would not do them any good.
"It is up to them. If they look at this issue negatively, they will get a negative answer but for Pas, we choose to loook at the positives. For example, with the deployment of additional military and police personnel to enforce the movement control restrictions, Pas is confident that the move will be successful," he said.
On another subject, Mohd Amar was also asked to comment on claims by Barisan Nasional's Padang Rengas Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that the current government has fallen.
Mohd Amar labeled Nazri's remarks as "baseless."
"There is no issue (of the government having collapsed) as a State of Emergency has been declared in the country.
"For Pas, this is not the right time to hold a general election. If Pas can wait, why can't other parties?"
After announcing his withdrawal of support for Perikatan Nasional today, Nazri claimed that the government's decision to declare a state of emergency was due to its lack of confidence in its ability to maintain a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
He claimed Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had admitted defeat when he went to see the Yang di-Pertuan Agongin seeking an emergency declaration.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has agreed to proclaim a State of Emergency nationwide until Aug 1 to control the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.