[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin spent Monday morning (October 26) locked in meetings with top government leaders as his administration grapples with Sunday’s royal rejection of his request for emergency powers.
Muhyiddin, who heads Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, held a special cabinet meeting at 11:30 am reportedly to discuss Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah’s decision not to declare a state of emergency.
The meeting ended at around 2:00 p.m., but none of the ministers stopped to address reporters.
Several ministers were seen leaving the government compound in their official cars around 2:15 p.m., including Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who said he was leaving for a separate meeting at Umno’s headquarters in Menara Dato Onn in Kuala Lumpur. .
The Umno-led BN coalition had asked for a separate meeting with their MPs there in the afternoon to discuss whether they would withdraw from PN.
It is understood that the closed-door meeting in Menara Dato Onn was held to deliberate on the next Parliament procedure on November 2, with the question of whether Mr. Muhyiddin should resign as Prime Minister among his agenda, Datuk Seri said. Hishammuddin quoted by local media.
The Umno deputy and the Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Zahidi Zainul Abidin, had told the Malaysiakini news portal that “the meeting is about everything.”
He said that he disagreed with some of his colleagues who called for Muhyiddin’s resignation and emphasized that his party continues to support Muhyiddin, before addressing the meeting.
Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was conspicuously absent from PMO meetings, had appeared at Umno headquarters before the BN meeting.
The Umno president, who in recent weeks threatened to withdraw party support for Mr. Muhyiddin, had previously told The Star that he could not attend PMO meetings because he felt bad.
Before the cabinet meeting, Tan Sri Muhyiddin had met with party leaders from his pact Perikatan Nasional (PN) at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), including Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang, and the head of the Indian Congress of Malaysia, SA Vigneswaran.
Despite growing calls for the prime minister’s resignation, Vigneswaran said Muhyiddin did not mention whether he would resign at the party chief’s meeting, Sin Chew Daily reported.
Several Umno ministers were also seen in the PMO, indicating that the party is divided over whether to continue backing the prime minister, who felt embarrassed after the Malaysian king refused to proclaim an emergency amid an outbreak. of resurgent coronavirus.
The plan to call an emergency is apparently to allow the government to tackle the pandemic without political distractions, but critics have dismissed it as a ploy by Muhyiddin to stay in power, given that the prime minister’s slim majority in Parliament is will test when MPs will meet to vote on the budget next month.
The Umno high council member, Puad Zarkashi, and the president of the opposition Parti Amanah Negara, Mohamad Sabu, called for Muhyiddin’s resignation, although the latter retracted his statement after being admonished for “treason”, as the sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah had asked politicians not to destabilize the government.
Despite rejecting the emergency request, the palace on Sunday praised the Muhyiddin administration’s handling of the pandemic while berating “irresponsible acts” that have undermined the government.
Some opposition figures, especially those of the Democratic Action Party, the largest party in Parliament, have welcomed the call to ensure the 2021 Budget passes by offering to negotiate the supply bill with the government in exchange for your support.
This comes amid growing uncertainty over whether Muhyiddin still controls Parliament after repeated assertions to the contrary from rivals such as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Umno’s advisory council chief Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
An emergency would have allowed Parliament to be suspended before the crucial vote on the 2021 Budget next month.
If government spending is not approved, it will collapse and possibly trigger early polls.
A national election amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak could trigger even more Covid-19 infections.
Muhyiddin had also met with close allies and advisers late Sunday at his residence, amid rumors that he had considered resigning over royal rejection.
Sultan Abdullah had made the decision after consulting with other state monarchs on Sunday afternoon, and the Ruling Council later declared that it was the king’s duty to “limit any element of abuse of power.”
Critics said Muhyiddin was using the pandemic as an excuse to stay in power.
Muhyiddin said Monday’s cabinet will discuss the King’s decree in detail.
Another meeting with top state ministers scheduled for Monday was canceled.
[ad_2]
