Amanah president Mohamad Sabu has joined the chorus of protest against the government's plan to impose an emergency to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Kota Raja MP, better known as Mat Sabu, it is Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who is in a crisis and not the nation.
"He is in an emergency to safeguard his position as PM. If the excuse is Covid-19, we have existing laws which can be used, there is no need for a state of emergency," he tweeted this evening.
A senior Umno leader, who spoke to Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity, believes that the move could backfire.
He said this might motivate those who are politically neutral to shun the Perikatan Nasional government and it also makes Muhyiddin look weak.
"Certainly people will see this as suspending democracy and not suspending Parliament. It drives more anger at Muhyiddin and those aligned to him," he added.
The Umno leader also alleged that many ministers were in the dark about the matter until this morning.
"The idea (for the emergency) was put forth by a small group of people, and some ministers expressed concern (about the ramifications)," he added.
Earlier, The Star reported that Muhyiddin's audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is to communicate the dissolution of Parliament.
If the Agong consents to this, then Muhyiddin would not have to put Budget 2021 to a vote on Nov 17. This would also negate the attempts to push for a no-confidence vote against him.
Muhyiddin, who rose to power following a political coup early this year, is now facing the possibility of a counter-coup against him.
In one corner, there is PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who claims to have the majority support of lawmakers to form the government and in the other corner, Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah appears to have teamed up with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to dislodge Muhyiddin.
Although Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has reaffirmed the party's support for Muhyiddin, analysts claim that it would be wrong to assume that he represents all of Umno's MPs. - Mkini
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