KUALA LUMPUR – Pressure continues to mount on Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on the eve of his major announcement on a rumoured lockdown, with Umno leader Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed calling for an alternative prime minister to be identified immediately.
Saying that the movement control order (MCO) expected to be announced tomorrow is to curb the "Umno virus" and not the novel coronavirus, Nur Jazlan said Muhyiddin's resignation is inevitable.
This follows Muhyiddin’s loss of a parliamentary majority, which the Pulai Umno division chief said necessitates his resignation.
The son of the late Umno stalwart Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat, Nur Jazlan said, only if a new prime minister cannot be found must a fresh election be called, something that Umno has been pushing for as its relationship with Bersatu reaches its tipping point.
His statement comes after Umno’s Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakob withdrew his support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government yesterday, effectively causing Muhyiddin to be on the brink of losing his majority.
“Isn’t it in the constitution, the very basis of our parliamentary democracy, that the prime minister must enjoy the support of the majority of MPs? As evident now, he doesn’t, so he has to resign.
“The next step would be to look for an alternative (prime minister). If this can’t be achieved, because no one individual commands majority support, then we have to go for an election,” he told The Vibes today.
In a press conference yesterday, Ahmad Jazlan had announced his decision to pull support from PN, leaving Muhyiddin with the backing of just 110 MPs out of 220 currently in the Dewan Rakyat, following the death of two lawmakers.
He joins Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the two Umno parliamentarians currently not supporting Muhyiddin.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) has 91 seats. The remaining 17 non-Umno MPs are not currently aligned with them. However, talks are ongoing and alliances are reported to be shifting.
For a new prime minister to be appointed from PH, the coalition will need the backing of the 17 MPs, or more Umno lawmakers withdrawing support for PN, to align themselves with the opposition.
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak have been revealed to be among the leaders who have pledged support for parliamentary opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.
On the MCO, Nur Jazlan pointed out that its use and timing reeks of suspicion, especially as it may coincide with Umno’s political events in the coming weeks.
The party is currently preparing for its annual general assembly, set for January 31, which will focus on whether to officially pull out of PN and force an election.
“Muhyiddin has failed in handling the Covid-19 pandemic, as is evident in the rise in cases, slow action in contact tracing and failure to keep numbers low among foreigners, and in prisons and detention centres,” said Nur Jazlan.
“It appears like he is more focused on stopping the 'Umno virus' than he is on the coronavirus.” – The Vibes, January 10, 2021
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