King holds pre-Cabinet meeting with PM via video conferencing

In a first, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah held a pre-Cabinet session with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin via video conferencing.

This is the first time such a session has been conducted via video conferencing, necessitated by the movement control order (MCO).

Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said that the 45-minute session started at 8.30am on Wednesday (April 15).

Sultan Abdullah was in Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur, while Muhyiddin was in his office in Putrajaya.

The pre-Cabinet meeting is usually held weekly for the ruler to discuss and exchange thoughts with the prime minister.

It was last held on March 18 as Sultan Abdullah and his family were advised by the Health Ministry to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days beginning March 25, after several Istana Negara staff tested positive for Covid-19.

“Sultan Abdullah consented for the pre-Cabinet meetings to be conducted via video conferencing during the MCO so that current issues can be discussed.

“This reflects the concern of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong towards the administration of the country and the well-being of the people as His Majesty would usually have the meeting at the Melawati Palace in Putrajaya,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ahmad Fadil added that Muhyiddin expressed his appreciation to the ruler for foregoing Royal Emoluments to the King and Queen for a period of six months from March this year to ease the government’s burden in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that Muhyiddin also thanked Sultan Abdullah for supporting the Government’s decision to extend the MCO until April 28.

Muhyiddin also congratulated Sultan Abdullah and his family for undergoing a self-quarantine process for 14 days, where they were also confirmed to be free of Covid-19.

The Star