KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO has hailed the stand of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah that Parliament should be reconvened as soon as possible.

UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this is testimony of His Majesty's and the Malay Rulers' wisdom and concern for the people's anxieties on the various problems currently faced in the country.

Ahmad Zahid also said the party thanked and supported His Majesty's views, adding that he appreciated Al-Sultan Abdullah's willingness to take into consideration the party's views during his (Ahmad Zahid's) audience with His Majesty on June 11.

"During the audience, I had also put forward the view that Parliament must be allowed to play its role of being the official platform to voice out the concerns of the people, such as calls for automatic moratorium, price control of goods, i-Sinar 2.0, i-Lestari 2.0 and various other special aid that can pave the way towards economic recovery.

"UMNO also presented the view for the Emergency not to be continued after Aug 1 as there will be implications to the country, and that even without the Emergency, the government will still be able to manage issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said in a posting on Facebook tonight.

After chairing a special meeting with the Malay Rulers earlier today, Al-Sultan Abdullah expressed the view that Parliament should reconvene as soon as possible.

Present at the meeting were the Sultan of Perak, Sultan of Selangor, Sultan of Johor, Sultan of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Sultan of Kedah, the Regent of Pahang and the Raja Muda of Perlis.

-- BERNAMA