Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was granted an audience with Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at the Pasir Pelangi palace in the state’s capital this afternoon.
“I invited him for lunch and he briefed me on the latest developments concerning the country,” the sultan said in a Facebook post later.
The audience came amid questions regarding Muhyiddin's legitimacy as prime minister after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and party lawmakers aligned with him withdrew their support.
Yesterday, it was reported that Istana Negara had asked Muhyiddin to bring forward the Parliament sitting to vote on a confidence motion pertaining to his leadership.
Prior to this, the Bersatu president, who insisted on having majority support in the Lower House, said he would let lawmakers decide his fate when Parliament convenes in September.
However, his political rivals demanded that the sitting be held as soon as possible to prevent attempts to engineer defections.
On Tuesday, Sultan Ibrahim said he was dismayed with the current political dispute amid the surge in Covid-19 cases nationwide. The pandemic has claimed more than 11,000 lives in Malaysia so far.
In his opening address at the Johor State Legislative Assembly this morning, the sultan warned that he would dissolve the House if elected representatives jostled for power, and he went on to stress that the election would be held when Covid-19 is under control.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin, who is also the assemblyperson for Gambir, was in Johor to attend the first day of the state assembly sitting.
According to Bernama, he was seated in the same row with two former Johor menteris besar Osman Sapian (Bersatu-Kempas) and Dr Sahruddin Jamal (Bersatu-Bukit Kepong).
Muhyiddin, a former Umno leader prior to his falling out with the then party president and prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2015, had served as the menteri besar for Johor from 1986 to 1995.
His Perikatan Nasional coalition has 29 seats in the state assembly, whereas the opposition Pakatan Harapan has 27 seats.
Following the last general election in 2018, Johor, which is regarded as the birthplace of Umno, had fallen to Harapan.
PN took over the state soon after Muhyiddin ousted the 22-month-old Harapan federal government through a political coup early last year. - Mkini
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