COMMENT | Does Parliament have the power to pass a resolution to suspend itself?
If the answer is no, then the current suspension of Parliament is unconstitutional, as will be explained later.
I contend that Parliament cannot suspend itself, for two reasons:
- For a momentous decision like the suspension of Parliament, there must be a provision in the Federal Constitution prescribing how such an event can take place. But there is none.
- It is obvious from the wording of the entire Article 150 of the Federal Constitution that provides for the proclamation of emergency and its subsequent operations, that the writer of the constitution had made the basic assumption that there is a running Parliament throughout the emergency. If Parliament can be suspended, Article 150 and its many clauses would surely not have been written the way they were written.
Parliament has no power to suspend itself
Hence, it is reasonable to deduce that Parliament cannot suspend itself, though it can be dissolved by the Agong when so advised by the executive.
Following this conclusion, the next question would be...