Muhyiddin govt making Agong look like a dictator, says Dr M

 

Dr Mahathir Mohamad made a special live online broadcast this evening.

PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad claims that the Perikatan Nasional government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is making the King look like a dictator.

In a online broadcast this evening, the former prime minister said the emergency ordinance did not allow anyone to question the state of emergency in court, which meant that the government could rule with an iron fist.

“By using the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, it makes the Agong look like a cruel dictator. However, these laws are actually enacted by Muhyiddin’s government,” he said.

Mahathir said it was a lie that the Covid-19 situation warranted the state of emergency. He alleged that since the emergency was declared, the government has not used emergency ordinances to deal with the pandemic.

Every action taken by the PN government so far to combat Covid-19 could have been done under regular laws.

“Instead, the emergency ordinances keep him as prime minister. That’s the real reason why Muhyiddin wanted an emergency to be proclaimed. With emergency powers, Parliament is suspended so that his position cannot be questioned or challenged,” Mahathir said.

He said the Agong’s name was being used to protect Muhyiddin. “Everything is claimed to be the Agong’s wishes. This includes retaining the prime minister and his Cabinet.”

(As Parliament has been suspended during the state of emergency, laws are promulgated by the King in the form of emergency ordinances, which must be ratified when Parliament resumes sitting.)

Mahathir maintained that Muhyiddin had lost his standing as prime minister when he advised the King to proclaim the emergency since he had lost the majority support of MPs to lead the country.

He added that Putrajaya has not worked on making business easier for industry players, claiming that investors have even been obstructed while some investments worth billions had been terminated.

“Most ministers don’t want to meet traders to resolve their problems. Some (traders) are under pressure by the corruption of politicians, who have replaced the professionals,” he claimed.

He said the lack of a rule of law under the emergency had scared investors away from Malaysia.

He claimed that Muhyiddin had misused the King’s name to protect himself from accusations of wrongdoing by suspending Parliament and also by threatening those questioning the government’s actions with heavy punishment.

Mahathir also contended that the law had not been followed when the emergency was declared. He said the constitution required the proclamation of emergency to be brought to Parliament but this condition had been ignored. He contended that the emergency is illegitimate and could not be enforced.

“The government is committing various wrongs but the courts are not allowed to judge whether the government’s actions are legal or illegal by law,” he claimed. - FMT