PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan has submitted the a few names to sit on the special independent committee who will advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the state of emergency, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"Pakatan's secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has contacted the minister concerned.
"The three names are with him and he will be submitting the names later today," Anwar said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday (Jan 20).
Although acknowledging the committee was bipartisan and independent, Anwar said it was not a solution.
The committee, he said, will focus more on the timing to end the Emergency.
"There are three Opposition lawmakers and four from the government. This is not the same as Parliament," he added.
The Opposition Leader noted that participation in the committee would not hamper the Opposition's appeal for a withdrawal of the Emergency proclamation.
On Thursday (Jan 14), Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said he had written to Anwar to seek three names for a special independent committee on the Emergency.
The committee, part of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's national Emergency announcement, is also aimed at advising the King on how long the state of emergency is needed.
On Tuesday (Jan 12), the King had decreed for an Emergency to be in force until Aug 1 or earlier if the number of Covid-19 cases can be effectively cut down and controlled.
The state of emergency is enforced nationwide as a proactive measure to contain the spread of Covid-19.
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