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KUALA LUMPUR: As rumors spread about a possible state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, opposition politicians have lamented such measures.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat Chairman Anwar Ibrahim expressed deep concern over reports that the Malaysian government, led by Muhyiddin Yassin, is trying to implement emergency measures that he said would slow down the parliamentary process.
“Today we have a government that lacks legitimacy, and that knows that it would not be able to demonstrate majority support in parliament, and is using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to justify its abuse of power,” the opposition leader said in a press release. . statement on Friday (October 23).
Anwar, who leads the Pakatan Harapan (PH) bloc in parliament against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government of Muhyiddin, strongly recommended to the latter to consider the legacy of his actions.
He said that while the rest of Asia was looking for ways to manage the virus and reopen their economies, Malaysia was heading in the opposite direction.
Earlier Friday, Muhyiddin had chaired a special cabinet meeting in Putrajaya. After that, he sought an audience with King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the latter’s palace in Kuantan, Pahang.
It was speculated that he was there to broadcast the cabinet’s decision to implement an emergency in Malaysia amid widespread COVID-19 infections and political instability.
COVID-19 cases in Malaysia rose to 24,514, with 710 new cases and 10 deaths reported on Friday. There are currently 8,416 active cases in treatment.
Describing the state of emergency as an “undemocratic means” to stay in power, Anwar, who had claimed to have a convincing majority to take over the government, said that what was needed to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic was transparency. , responsibility and firm action. of the different government ministries.
Mohamad Sabu, leader of the Parti Amanah Negara public health component, said in a separate statement that laws already exist that could be used to combat the pandemic effectively, without the need to declare a national emergency.
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