High stakes, non-stop speculation

 

Meeting point: The car ferrying Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin seen leaving his office in the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya.

PETALING JAYA: The political situation in the country remains fluid after a day of intense drama, which is certain to only escalate in the coming days.

The meeting between Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and coalition leaders from Perikatan Nasional yesterday went on late into the evening and the drama is continuing to unfold.

The question that some sources are asking is when will Parliament convene and whether this will be even sooner than the Sept 6 date that had been set earlier.

Yesterday started with a routine pre-Cabinet audience between Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Muhyiddin, which was held virtually.

Sources indicated that Perikatan’s parliamentary support was among the topics discussed after 14 Umno MPs had recently retracted their support for the Prime Minister.

It is believed that the King had told Muhyiddin to test his support through a confidence motion in a special Parliamentary sitting that must be held on a date earlier than Sept 6.

After the audience with the King, the Prime Minister headed off to a long Cabinet meeting in Putrajaya, where he is believed to have informed Cabinet members of the possibility of bringing forward the Parliament meeting before September.

This all came after Umno recently announced that a number of its MPs had retracted their support for the Perikatan government and Muhyiddin as premier.

In the wake of that, in a televised address last Wednesday after meeting the King face to face, Muhyiddin had announced that the Perikatan government would table a confidence motion in Parliament when it reconvenes on Sept 6 and that the King had consented to this.

On Monday, Umno upped the ante by publishing a list of the 14 Umno MPs who had retracted their support on its official website.

It was also revealed that Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had presented the list to the King in an audience earlier this month.

Yesterday afternoon, press members were forwarded messages informing them of an emergency Perikatan meeting involving coalition parties that would take place later at 5pm.

Sources said the 5pm meeting, for which invitations were sent on Sunday, was to deliberate on the outcome of the pre-Cabinet audience between the King and the Prime Minister.

Leaders were tight-lipped, except to indicate that it was more a briefing with Prime Minister who explained the various scenarios that lay ahead.

Among those at the meeting were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and Sarawak chief minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

Some Perikatan coalition party presidents like Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee attended the meeting via video call.

The meeting ended at around 7pm. Perikatan leaders left quietly through a separate exit at the opposite side of Perdana Putra in a bid to avoid press members who had been gathering since 3.30pm.

According to sources privy to the meeting, Muhyiddin had announced his intentions to stick to the scheduled Sept 6 Parliament sitting date.

“The Speaker will not be advised to reconvene Parliament earlier.

“He will stick with the Sept 6 date for Parliament to reconvene,” one source said.

It is understood that the political situation remains fluid and observers have hinted that the coming days will be crucial to the nation’s political structure.

After the 7pm meeting at Perdana Putra, Muhyiddin was spotted back to his residence at Bukit Damansara along with police escorts at 7.50pm.

There were more than 10 press members staked out near his house at Bukit Damansara from 2pm.

As of press time, there were no further developments. - Star