PM has admitted he has no majority and should go, say activists

 

Activists and netizens appear to be hardly impressed with his ‘all of government’ offer to his rivals to support him. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Although Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced various “goodies” to all parties in an attempt to keep his administration in power, activists and netizens were not impressed with his “all of government” offer.

At a press conference today where he was surrounded by his key ministers, Muhyiddin said he would propose a framework for bipartisan political cooperation, offering equal annual allocations for all MPs regardless of their political affiliation.

He said this “all of government” approach would ensure political stability and a functioning administration.

Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, however, called Muhyiddin and his Cabinet “hypocrites” adding that for the past year, they had destroyed every single democratic check and balance.

“Now, moments before its (Perikatan Nasional) death, they dangle democratic reforms as if they are saviours of this nation. Resign, and get lost,” he said.

IDEAS chief executive officer Tricia Yeoh said Muhyiddin was essentially calling for a confidence and supply agreement (CSA) – support me and these are the things you will get.

“Many of the reforms proposed were what civil societies have been calling for a long time. Now, goodies are dished out for support. This is an admission that he has no majority,” she said.

Qyira Yusri, co-founder of Undi18, said: “CSA without using the word CSA.”

Commenting on the government agreeing to implement the Undi18 initiative without waiting for automatic voter registration, Qyira said it was “disgusting” that Putrajaya was using it as a tool for Muhyiddin to stay in power.

Many Twitter users kept harping on the fact that Muhyiddin had openly admitted that he had lost his majority.

User @Siv_Gunslinger said: “So basically Muhyiddin pretty much admitted that since no other MPs have majority support to form a new government, he can just remain in the post for the time being. By the looks of it, this pretty much confirms that he has lost his majority. Just step down if you have lost the majority.”

Similarly, user @mhdsmlj said: “Muhyiddin admits he has lost his majority but doesn’t want to resign because no one is suitable to become a prime minister? But he proceeds to bribe others to join him? He could’ve just resigned and let others rule.”

Sin Yew said Muhyiddin had just conceded on live TV that he had lost the confidence of the majority in Dewan Rakyat.

“This means that he must now resign under Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution. Given this concession, there is no need to wait for a Dewan Rakyat sitting to test confidence,” he said.

Thomas Chen said that even if Muhyiddin and his Cabinet resigned, the work of civil servants would still continue.

“What is this? One whole country is asking for Muhyiddin to resign, not civil servants. Doctors will work, the health ministry will still function and the vaccinations will still continue in the whole country. Without a Cabinet, the public will be fine,” he said. - FMT