THE man with the keywords "strong, formidable and convincing majority" is back.
This time around, opposition leader and PKR president, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is "convinced" that a majority of opposition Members of Parliament and those from the government had sent their letters to petition the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, to revoke the Emergency Proclamation that the King had endorsed last Tuesday.
Anwar was quoted as saying that "it is true that the number of MPs who has written to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has touched more than a majority. We are not objecting but pleading for the wisdom of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to consider and review the excuses given by the prime minister which are unreasonable and weak."
He also said the wisdom of the King was vital to enable parliament to convene a sitting as soon as possible. Looks like Anwar has not learned from the past episodes.
While he has every right to be very confident of and brag about himself, his political charades and actions related to replacing Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister, have always been impressive but false. He has been sending false news to the media all this while.
He had staked claim that he had a strong, formidable and convincing majority to form a new government last October, that he had the backing of more than 120 MPs.
A statement issued by the palace on the same day stated that in his 25-minute audience with the King, he only presented the total number of MPs who allegedly supported him, no names whatsoever.
Then, he went on threatening Muhyiddin's administration by saying the opposition would not back the 2021 budget. By then, his oft-repeated claims of commanding the parliamentary numbers to bring down the Perikatan Nasional government by disapproving the budget was as good as gone.
Anwar still doesn't get it. He still couldn't get his facts right. Legal experts have been saying that the King's decision in invoking the emergency provision cannot be challenged in any legal way. There is nothing he could do while the gazette Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 is in place.
One of them Dr Abdul Aziz Bakri was reportedly saying that the declaration of emergency is the prerogative of the King where his decision is conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court on any grounds.
Of course, Anwar and the rest of opposition members can oppose but that's it. Dr Abdul Aziz also said the court is powerless as it is the constitution itself which allows all the breaking down of barriers and limitations which were available in a non-emergency situation.
The soaring number of Covid-19 cases does not seem to worry him at all, including Umno's Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Ahmad Maslan who all wanted general elections to be held as soon as possible.
The pandemic is not going to go away anytime soon. So, politicking must come to an end. Put aside all your egos, politicians. We all must be united, especially at this stage where we are seriously battling the virus spread.
DATUK SAIFUL ADLI
Kuala Kangsar, Perak
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times