By Mei Kuan
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his televised address today (January 12) spoke on the proclamation of national state of emergency until August 1 as consented to by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to curb the critical pandemic situation.
Besides the sudden spike in positive COVID-19 cases, a few states in Malaysia are struck by massive flooding, thus posing a major threat to security and economy of the people.
“Let me assure you that the civilian government will continue to function. The emergency proclaimed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is not a military coup and curfew will not be enforced,” he explained.
In line with the proclamation, the national border control will be tightened. The parliament and state assembly will not hold any sitting. In addition, elections (national, state or by-election) will not be held to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Muhyiddin stressed that it is his responsibility as the head of government to protect the lives of the people.
“The judiciary will continue to be the beacon of justice in our country and I will never interfere in the business of the court,” he said.
“To all the stakeholders keenly monitoring what is happening in Malaysia, I emphasise that Malaysia is open for business. In facing these challenging times, this period of emergency will give us much-needed calm and stability as well as enable us to focus on economic recovery and regeneration,” he added.
He urged all to remain calm and provide faith as well as full support to the government to fight the pandemic effectively, “Let’s practise stricter self-discipline in order to flatten the COVID-19 curve quickly and reduce the pressure on the healthcare system.”
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