KUALA LUMPUR: Pasir Gudang member of parliament (MP) Hassan Karim has taken a swipe at Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin on his statement that the government is practising autocracy and not democracy.
Hassan in a Facebook post had questioned whether the previous PN government under Muhyiddin was indeed more liberal and democratic compared to the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whom the PN chairman accused of suppressing democratic freedoms.
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"I have no intention to defend the Madani government's record on democracy. Nevertheless, let me state a fact about what actually happened during the PN government led by Muhyiddin."
Hassan then pointed out his experience of being barred from entering the parliament building on the grounds of an emergency declaration by Muhyiddin during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"One day after dawn, I departed from Johor to attend a session of the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival at the parliament roundabout, a fully equipped Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) team with rifles and shields blocked my entry.
"I later found out that all members of parliament were also denied entry, including Anwar Ibrahim who was then the MP for Port Dickson and Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"We were informed that parliament had been suspended and the eighth Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, had declared a nationwide emergency.
"As the MP for Pasir Gudang which was elected by the people, Muhyiddin's actions at that time were undemocratic and suppressed parliamentary freedoms," he said.
As such, Hassan said he had contested the actions of the PN government at that time and filed judicial review actions against the government's decision to declare an emergency and suspend parliament.
"I challenged the actions of Muhyiddin and his government. I filed a judicial review against the PN government's decision to declare an emergency and suspend parliament.
"I requested the Johor Baru High Court to declare the emergency proclamation invalid. My application was dismissed by the court. As a trained lawyer, I am not one to easily give up.
"I wanted to prove that Muhyiddin's antidemocratic actions were wrong," he said, explaining that Hassan then filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal but lost before continuing the appeal at the Federal Court and is still ongoing.
"So, when Muhyiddin accused the Madani government led by Anwar of suppressing freedoms and being undemocratic at the PN MPs and Assemblymen Convention, I think the PN chairman should reflect on his record," he wrote.
Muhyiddin on Jan 12, 2021 had announced that the cabinet at that time advised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to issue a Proclamation of Emergency for the entire country, effective from Jan 11 to Aug 1, 2021.
The proclamation was issued under Article 150(1) of the Federal Constitution due to the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which directly posed a major threat to the lives and economy of the people at that time.
During the emergency period, parliament and state assemblies would not convene until a time determined by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.