Don't bicker over PM post, there's an emergency now - Hadi

 

Disputing the post of prime minister when the country is in a state of emergency is something that should not be done, said PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Despite not mentioning names, Hadi is believed to be referring to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim who previously claimed to have the support of a majority of MPs.

"The thing we should not do at the moment is to argue about who wants to be the prime minister or who wants to appoint one. 

"Today's concern is the Covid-19 pandemic that is increasingly threatening the lives of the people, and yet there are still people who want to debate about it (the prime minister's post), saying that they have enough parliamentary votes to change the prime minister.

"This is all nonsense. This matter must be rejected and prevented," he said in a speech on a YouTube webinar called Proklamasi darurat: Apakah satu keperluan? (What is the need for an emergency declaration?).

Hadi added that any measures that could disrupt the work of helping the people during this emergency must be addressed strictly.

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim

Yesterday, Anwar claimed that the number of MPs who agreed to reject Muhyiddin's government's proposal to hold an emergency was "more than enough".

The opposition leader said that between 114 and 115 MPs, a majority in the Dewan Rakyat, are against the emergency and that this is enough to ask the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to consider their appeal for Parliament to reconvene and have the emergency aborted.

"Now we have 114, 115 who are opposed to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) (emergency) motion. That is more than enough.

"The current number rejects PN's views on the majority, it is rejected by a majority of MPs," he had said in a dialogue session with the National Professors Council.

Anwar had previously appealed to lawmakers to write to the king, to get the emergency declaration rescinded.

Umno also had internal efforts to petition the Agong to cancel the emergency.

However, a party source told Malaysiakini that a majority of Umno MPs were hesitant to sign the petition, as it may reflect badly on the party. 

A majority rejecting the PN government over the emergency does not mean a majority of MPs support Anwar to become prime minister - and the PKR president did not imply such either. - Mkini