IT seems that cool heads have prevailed. Most Malaysians can heave a sigh of relief now that the King has decided that no Emergency is necessary even as the country faces an uphill battle to contain the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
Led by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the monarchs have decided against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s proposal to proclaim an Emergency.
While the PM has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for the ‘nuclear option’, Malaysians at large felt he was taking things too far and protested against it.
And it looks like even the Malay Rulers saw through Muhyiddin’s excessive gambit and threw a spanner on his political manoeuvring.
And to prove how unpopular Muhyiddin’s proposal was, #Daulat Tuanku started trending as soon as the Agong rejected the Emergency proposal.
In recent months, many have speculated that Muhyiddin has lost majority support at the Dewan Rakyat due to purported dissatisfaction on the PM’s policies which seem to favour his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) members at the expense of his other allies, Umno and PAS.
And Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s declaration that he has majority support to form a new government did not help in the matter.
Following Anwar’s move, Umno declared an open season against Muhyiddin.
Several of its leaders called for the nationalist party to withdraw from the fragile Perikatan Nasional coalition unless the PM conceded to their demands for better positions in the Government.
Although Anwar failed to convince the Agong of his majority support, Muhyiddin’s position seemed to have become shaky as veteran leaders such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah started pushing for a no-confidence vote against the PM.
And Muhyiddin’s push for an Emergency proclamation not only made his allies and adversaries livid but also Malaysians at large.
Earlier today, the Free Malaysia Today portal reported of a senior PPBM leader, claiming that Muhyiddin did not discuss the Emergency proposal with the party’s supreme council before seeking an audience with the Agong.
The leader alleged that Muhyiddin was ill-advised by “certain desperate leaders within the party” who feared that Mahathir and his allies may make a comeback by voting down Budget 2021 which is scheduled for tabling on Nov 6.
In addition to shooting down Muhyiddin’s Emergency proposal, the monarch also gave the Pagoh MP a slap on the wrist by advising politicians not to destabilise the Government.
The Agong had stressed the importance of the upcoming budget as it will comprise measures to better contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which in a way can be interpreted as urging MPs to support it.
At the end of the day, Muhyiddin’s public image has definitely nosedived, no thanks to his own doing.
In all probability, the investment community shall rejoice when trading resumes tomorrow, knowing that the sun has not set on the country’s financial markets.
After all, ex-premier Dr Mahathir has warned yesterday that Malaysia’s stock market will collapse completely if a state of emergency is declared.
Now, it seems that the PM is back to the drawing table to chart his next move.
He has called for all state Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers for a special meeting in Putrajaya at 9.30am tomorrow (Monday) even as the Malay Rulers were meeting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara on Sunday (Oct 25). – Oct 25, 2020
