Proroguing Parliament might mean Anwar was right, says Umno leader

 

Should Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin move to prorogue Parliament, it could lead to the perception that Anwar Ibrahim does indeed have the numbers, said Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zakarshi.

This one of three possible perceptions which Puad said the public would have if Parliament was suspended as part of the widely speculated emergency proclamation sought by Muhyiddin.

Anwar, the PKR president, has been claiming for a month that Muhyiddin no longer enjoyed majority support of the country's MPs. However, there has been no concrete evidence of this.

Puad said alternatively, Muhyiddin would be seen as attempting to avoid a vote of no-confidence.

The third possible outcome was that the public would think that the federal government was trying to avoid having its Budget 2021 defeated in Parliament.

"The biggest question is Budget 2021. The prime minister needs emergency funds for next year's expenditure.

"That budget would not be the people's budget should it not be debated and passed by Parliament. There will be no transparency.

"It is better for us to place our hopes on the wisdom of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the council of rulers," he said.

This position taken by Puad, who is a former MP and former deputy minister, was indicative that even Umno's top brass was in the dark about Putrajaya's plans to seek a proclamation of emergency.

After a special cabinet meeting yesterday morning, Muhyiddin, several cabinet ministers and top security officials were granted a two-hour audience by the Agong in Kuantan, Pahang.

At the time of writing, it is uncertain what was the outcome of the meeting.

It is understood that the Agong will confer with fellow rulers before making a decision. - Mkini