AS Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin read out Perikatan Nasional’s economic recovery plan in a live telecast on Friday, social-media users commented on how tired and out of breath he looked.
Just four days shy of 100 days in the country’s highest office, this was his 15th televised speech since becoming the eighth prime minister on March 1.
Although Muhyiddin has only held one press conference after chairing his first cabinet meeting on March 11, politics has taken a toll on the 73-year-old pancreatic cancer survivor.
The previous day’s events did not help as he had to chair the Bersatu meeting to formalise the sacking of three founding members and office-bearers, starting with chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir and youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman. The other two are supreme council member Dr Maszlee Malik and Amiruddin Hamzah.
All five are MPs from Langkawi, Jerlun, Muar, Simpang Renggam and Kubang Pasu.
On the same day, he also had to watch his former political secretary and Sri Gading MP Shahruddin Salleh resign as deputy works minister.
There was some respite for Muhyiddin before the day was over as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Mohd Redzuan Yusof said an hour later he will not be resigning as speculated.
Since coming into office on March 1 with the help of Barisan Nasional, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and a couple of MPs from Sabah, Muhyiddin’s support in the 222-member Parliament is shaky.
It is 114 at best, according to the seating arrangement in the two-hour Parliament meeting on May 18. And changing by the week.
As it stands, Muhyiddin’s government is now backed by 115 MPs after Lubok Antu’s Jugah Muyang (formerly PKR) decided to hop on board on Friday. But the number is bound to change again as the weeks progress as Pakatan Harapan continues to cast doubt on Muhyiddin’s support.
To date, the support has not been tested in Parliament yet as the May 18 sitting was only held to hear the royal address and fulfil constitutional requirements.
Legitimacy issues
Muhyiddin’s biggest challenge is to maintain himself as prime minister and ensure his MPs do not defect, said Universiti Malaya’s Assoc Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi.
“His populist way of appointing MPs to head GLCs and give them cabinet positions is only a stop-gap measure,” said the Malay Studies expert.
“But this has led to claims that he is only buying support. Pakatan can also do the same if it wants to get back to power quickly.
“This only shows that Perikatan is unstable and the move to offer positions for support is unsustainable,” said Awang Azman.
Former senator Khairul Azwan Harun also believes that Muhyiddin’s slim majority is unhelpful.
“He has to return the mandate to voters soon,” said the former Umno deputy chief turned political analyst.
“I expect snap elections any time this year. Perhaps, even before the tabling of the next budget.”
Similarly, during a Yusof Ishak Institute webinar on Friday, Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research director Ibrahim Suffian said the government would face problems passing bills in Parliament due to its meagre majority.
“All the government MPs will be bound to their seats all the time because of Perikatan’s small majority. The government has to ensure full attendance if it wants to pass any bill,” said the political opinion pollster.
He said fresh elections alone won’t be easy unless Muhyiddin manages to conjure up a deal with Umno and PAS as Bersatu’s seats overlap with the other two parties.
Economic challenges
On the flip side, Muhyiddin’s government has benefitted from the way it has handled the Covid-19 pandemic.
Surveys conducted by Merdeka Centre in February and March show that seven out of 10 Malaysians were satisfied with the measure used to contain the spread of Covid-19.
According to the survey, public satisfaction towards the Health Ministry was 86% compared to satisfaction towards government (79%). The public was less satisfied with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba (61%).
Khairul said Muhyiddin has done a good job when it came to sustaining livelihoods during the 12-week lockdown that began on March 18.
“He has also ensured that party internal problems have not affected the Covid-19 crisis management,” said Khairul.
While sustaining livelihoods during a lockdown is one thing, revitalising the economy is another, said Awang Azman.
“Muhyiddin will now have to deal with the massive retrenchments, closure or scaling down of businesses and price increases.
“If he can minimise the impact or restore the economy quickly, Muhyiddin will be seen as a saviour and that will go a long way in fresh polls,” said the Sarawakian.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Dr Azmil Tayeb said Muhyiddin’s success to contain Covid-19 and lessen the economic impact has helped PN.
“But can he restore the economy in the face of a global recession?
“His biggest challenge is also on how to keep Perikatan together and enough MPs on his side,” said Azmil.
the malaysian insight
He won't be the first to die in office. With the wealth he squandered and at his age why not just kick back instead of trying to kick the bucket and taking the country along while he is at it?
ReplyDelete