Opposition politicians have heaped pressure on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign, after the Umno supreme council’s move to retract support for him.
The party has 38 MPs but questions remain if all will heed the supreme council's decision.
In a statement this morning, PKR lawmaker Sim Tze Tzin said Muhyiddin ought to resign as he had lost the support of a majority of MPs.
He cited an Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) analysis that pegged just 77 MPs on the government bench. IDE is owned by the PKR-led Selangor government.
“Muhyiddin has no more excuse not to resign. The government bloc has only 77 MPs left. There are now 143 MPs who do not support the PM, this is almost two-thirds (of the Dewan Rakyat).
“In a Westminster system, support for the PM is determined by the party. If a government component party withdraws its support, the government will fall.
“There is a possibility that Umno MPs may still support Muhyiddin but the reality is, he has very little support and they will follow the party’s decision. Why support a PM who is in such a dangerous position?” asked the Bayan Baru MP.
Meanwhile, DAP lawmaker Abdul Aziz Bari suggested that Muhyiddin step down and serve as a “caretaker PM” until a new government is formed.
He opined that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government had already fallen subsequent to Umno’s decision.
“The next government (has to be) a government proper which will run the country until Parliament is dissolved in 2023.
“Snap elections are out of the question given the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
The Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson proposed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim be given the opportunity to form a new government since he has 89 Pakatan Harapan MPs on his side - the most of any bloc.
“I think the one that stands out as PM candidate now is Anwar. He has 89 MPs with him.
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong can’t use his discretion without regard to the composition in the House.
“Anwar is the one with the most support, so it’s his right to try to form the government after PN collapsed early this morning,” he commented.
Trending topic
Meanwhile, on Twitter, #KerajaanTumbang (government collapse) emerged as a trending topic as of 11am today after it was mentioned in almost 5,000 tweets.
Many expressed frustration at more political drama at a time when Covid-19 cases and deaths were rising.
- Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.