Saying power is an addictive drug, Shabery Cheek muses over PM's audience with king

 

Following the withdrawal of support of a number of Umno MPs for prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno supreme council member Ahmad Shabery Cheek has listed a number of possible outcomes when Muhyiddin meets the Yang di-Pertuan Agong this morning.

“On Wednesday morning, the prime minister usually has an audience with the king at the palace. This is a routine meeting before the cabinet meeting at Putrajaya in which the prime minister will brief the king about important developments and government affairs.

“But many expect that there is a face to face today not only about government affairs, but also about the legitimacy of the prime minister,” said Shabery in a FB post this morning.

He said that the withdrawal of some Umno MPs in combination with the existing MPs opposed to Muhyiddin’s leadership means that it is common knowledge that Muhyiddin has lost his majority support.

“As far as I know, some possibilities can happen. Firstly, Muhyiddin can submit his resignation.

Secondly, he recommends that Parliament be disbanded and asks to serve as caretaker PM until fresh elections are held. This should be within two months as with Sabah but will be difficult due to the Covid-19 situation.

“Thirdly, he could stay on as prime minister of a minority government as long as Parliament is in session,” said Shabery.

Shabery, a former minister under Najib Abdul Razak, said that Muhyiddin appeared to want to have a long life by delaying Parliament so that there would not be a vote on the legitimacy of his government.

“Parliament should have been a five-day sitting. But Day 4 was delayed even though the agenda was not yet completed.

“If it was due to Covid-19 cases, well, many malls, vaccination centres or other premises are closed for only a few days and reopen after they are sanitised.

“But Parliament said it will only be reconvened in September - and that is only if you want to open it.”

Cryptically, Shaberry likened power to opium consumption.

“People say this power is like opium. If you’re addicted, it’s hard to get rid of.

“Anything will be done as long as you continue the addiction. It doesn’t matter what people say.

“Opium is really fun,” he said.

Yesterday, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that 11 of the party’s MPs, including himself, have withdrawn their support for the prime minister.

Following the announcement, Umno lawmaker Zahidi Zainul Abidin claimed that the PN government remains intact despite more than 10 MPs from his party withdrawing their support for Muhyiddin.

The Padang Besar MP spoke to reporters at the Seri Pacific Hotel in Kuala Lumpur after a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Umno MPs aligned to PN, which ended close to 2am this morning.

Ismail Sabri had arrived at the hotel at about 12.30am following an earlier meeting with Muhyiddin at his residence in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. - Mkini