LET’s hope good sense prevail before a decision is taken on whether a state of Emergency needs to be declared in the country, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He said this would be a ‘big’ decision to be made in response to a question by a reporter whether an Emergency, if declared, would ruin Penang’s economy after launching the first Robotic Brain & Spine Centre at Sunrise Tower in Gurney Drive today.
There was a strong speculation of Putrajaya proposing for an Emergency when Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and several Cabinet ministers visited Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’aytatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Abdul Aziz in Kuantan on Friday.
It is reported that the King had a meeting with other Malay Rulers at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon to deliberate on the issue.
Chow said when he visited a multinational corporation in Penang yesterday, the issue of Emergency was brought up by foreign investors.
“They are concerned about what will be the impact if Emergency is declared.
“There have been a lot of opinions expressed that the economy and financial sector will suffer greatly should Emergency be imposed. And whatever recovery we have achieved thus far over the past six months will be jeopardised as well.
“Beyond politics, we have the economy and the livelihood of the people to consider,” Chow said.
A day earlier, Chow said the Federal Government should first consult all state governments, various stakeholders and political parties if there was a need for an Emergency.
While the Federal Government wants an Emergency to be proclaimed due to the spike in Covid-19 cases and to halt political activities, there are others who see it as a political move for Parliament to be suspended and save the prime minister from being ousted if his Budget 2021 is not passed.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alvie Cheng
Video by Law Suun Ting