As a decisive measure to curb the Covid-19 pandemic, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah agreed to declare a state of emergency nationally until 1st August.
The declaration of a national emergency implies that parliament will be dissolved indefinitely, granting the right to rule by decree to the embattled Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who came to power in February via a military coup and has a shaky hold on power.
The announcement came as a shock as Muhyiddin did not address such a strategy on Monday, when he declared targeted lockdowns around the nation to quell a growing third wave of infections.
“I urge the people to remain calm and strong to face this state of emergency and the movement control order for our own safety and interest,” said Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin in a statement on Tuesday (11th January).
The King also hopes that all Malaysians will follow the SOPs set out by the government carefully, much as when the curve was flattened during the first MCO in March 2020.
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