With Pulai win, two-thirds majority for govt rests on Muda's support

 

Pakatan Harapan’s victory in Pulai last night restored the status quo for the coalition in Parliament.

However, the matter of whether the government can have a two-thirds majority now rests on Muda - whose single seat is the deciding factor.

Without Muda, Harapan and its Madani coalition allies only have 147 seats in Parliament - one short of a two-thirds majority needed to amend the Federal Constitution.

A two-thirds majority is required for a number of reforms sought by the government, including citizenship rights for women married to non-Malaysians abroad and separating the offices of the attorney-general and solicitor-general.

However, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman - who is the Muar MP - has threatened to withdraw his support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the Dewan Rakyat.

This was after prosecutors withdrew all charges against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.

Muda had wanted the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to explain the matter, or else it would leave the government bloc.

The AGC - which also faced pressure from other quarters - defended its decision, insisting there was a need for further investigations in the case and to avoid a miscarriage of justice.

Muda has yet to explain whether it found this answer satisfactory but has been engaging in a war of words with DAP - its former patron whom it now called a lapdog.

Syed Saddiq - when asked whether Muda had made a decision on whether or not to pull support for the government - was evasive, saying only that the party would make a decision.

Separately from Muda, Perikatan Nasional used denying the government a two-thirds majority as a major campaign material for the Pulai by-election.

It claimed that the government was trying to add more parliamentary seats in urban areas, which would empower DAP and disenfranchise Malay voters.

The government has denied such plans.

Harapan won the Pulai by-election with 62 percent of the vote. - Mkini