King urges M'sians to remain calm, not to panic, says Malay Rulers will be consulted on PM's proposal

PETALING JAYA: The King will consult all the Malay rulers before coming to a decision on the proposal that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had presented to him Friday (Oct 23), says Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin.

Fadil said that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah urged the people to remain calm and not speculate as his main concern is the well-being of the rakyat in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah held an audience with the Prime Minister at Istana Abdul Aziz in Kuantan at 5pm yesterday (Oct 23).

"The audience was proposed by Muhyiddin following a special Cabinet meeting chaired by him in Putrajaya yesterday morning.

"In the one-and-a-half hour meeting, Sultan Abdullah was presented with the proposals which were decided in the special Cabinet meeting for his consideration and for his consent for implementation (of those proposals)," said Fadil in a statement Saturday (Oct 24).

He said that, following the meeting, Sultan Abdullah decided to hold a meeting with the Malay Rulers at Istana Negara to discuss and look into the proposals presented by Muhyiddin.

"Therefore, Sultan Abdullah advises the people to stay calm, not to panic and be patient in the current situation while waiting for the decision on the proposals.

"Everyone is also advised to not make any speculation which can arouse confusion and worry which in turn will threaten the peace of our beloved country," said Fadil in his statement.

He further stated that in view of the continued rise of Covid-19 cases and new clusters, the King repeats his call for everyone to play their role in observing the standard operating procedures set by the authorities.

On Friday, Muhyiddin and an entourage of ministers and top government officials met the King in Kuantan to allegedly propose the proclamation of a state of emergency, as decided by the Cabinet, as earlier measures put in place were not effective enough to fight Covid-19.

Under Article 150 of the Federal Constitution, the Prime Minister may advise the King to proclaim a state of emergency tailored to warrant a certain situation that threatens the country.