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PETALING JAYA: Jerlun MP Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Photo) says it will introduce a bill for private members to amend article 55 (3) of the Federal Constitution with the aim of allowing the postponement of a general election due to the threats of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the aim of the bill is to allow the government to postpone general elections due to the safety and health of the rakyat until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is important as current law stipulates that general elections must be held during the pandemic.
“Furthermore, some government representatives had mentioned that such a situation can only be avoided if an emergency is declared,” he said while debating the 2021 budget at the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (November 18).
Mukhriz said that although such amendments would require the support of a two-thirds majority of Dewan Rakyat members, he believed that the government also had the same intention to handle the Covid-19 pandemic effectively.
“Then the government should support the proposed amendments, and it would be better if the draft of the private members bill came from the government and was presented in the Dewan Rakyat,” he said.
“Jerlun is confident that if there is strong political will among all parties, there is no reason why we should not amend the Federal Constitution to save the rakyat from the threats of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mukhriz added.
He said that despite that, he will still present a private member bill to the speaker as it can be defined as a specific, urgent and publicly important matter.
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