Pressure on PM to shore up split govt
Malaysian king cites virus to cancel meet
KUALA LUMPUR: The largest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition threatened to pull out unless it gets better terms, adding pressure on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to shore up his unstable government or call a snap election.
The United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which holds about a third of the seats in Mr Muhyiddin’s 12-party government, said in a statement late on Tuesday that it would enter talks with him to stay in the bloc. It also suggested formalising an alliance with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which would unify the largest Malay-Muslim political organisations.
Separately, Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama yesterday cited a top party official saying that Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was scheduled to have an audience with the king at 5pm today.
However, Malaysia’s royal palace then announced that all meetings with the monarch will be postponed for two weeks because of new coronavirus curbs.
“Yes, due to the CMCO and the implementation of National Palace lockdown,” palace comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin told Reuters, referring to a so-called conditional movement control order as coronavirus cases spike.
The palace will set new dates for the meetings with party leaders after the curbs were lifted, Mr Ahmad Fadil said.
The moves add another twist to Malaysia’s political drama, which has seen various factions jockey for power after former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad abruptly resigned in February. Mr Muhyiddin emerged in March as the head of an unwieldy bloc with a majority of only a few votes, prompting constant speculation about the potential collapse of the government.
Umno, which has only been in the opposition for about two years since Malaysia’s independence in 1957, has emerged as a key power broker in the latest negotiations. Some of its members had threatened to join a new coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim, who claimed on Tuesday to present a “convincing majority” of more than 120 lawmakers in a meeting with the king.
Yet t he monarch remained unconvinced, saying in a statement that Mr Anwar didn’t submit the names of l awmakers to back up his claim. He advised Mr Anwar “to abide by and respect such legal processes enshrined in the Federal Constitution” before stressing the need for unity to fight the coronavirus.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Mr Muhyiddin kept mum on Mr Anwar while announcing that Malaysia would be a priority recipient of the coronavirus vaccine that China is developing.
“I don’t want to comment on what Anwar did in the palace,” Mr Muhyiddin said in a televised interview. “I leave it to the best judgment of the king.”
Malaysia’s ruling parties dismissed Mr Anwar’s move as a tactic to destabilise the country’s politics. Mr Muhyiddin’s coalition won a key state election last month in Sabah, which is crucial to taking power nationally, though it took heat after the campaign led to a jump in virus cases.