Tag Archives: muhyiddin

Tun’s NOC idea may be the much-needed solution

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I have changed my mind. In my last post I said reconvening Parliament was a more urgently needed democratic priority than former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s idea of a National Operations Council (NOC) to solve the current political impasse. I now strongly believe that Tun’s plan may work and bring about the resolution all of us want.

There is only one reason — I emphasize “one” — why I believe that the NOC will solve the current political problem. Of all the criticisms levelled at him and the suggestions made in public debates, Prihatin Nasional (PN) coalition leader Muhyiddin Yasin reacted only to one — Tun’s NOC plan. All others he has ignored. That suggests that Muhyiddin regards the NOC as a threat to his and PN’s survival. He dismissed it immediately through his principal private secretary, Marzuki Mohamad, who posted on Facebook why the NOC was “not suitable” to fight the covid 19 pandemic and revive the economy.

That reaction by Muhyiddin says that he sees the NOC as the only threat to PN’s survival. He was threatened enough to react to it. The reason should be obvious. The Agong alone can install the NOC and the unofficial prime minister will be able to do nothing about it.

The reconvening of Parliament, however, is in Muhyiddin’s hands. He can abide by the Agong’s call to reconvene Parliament but he can take his time about it. That’s the strategy he is employing now to prolong his stay in government.

Reconvening Parliament is no threat to him for two reasons. Firstly, he can push any no- confidence vote to the bottom of the agenda and it will not see the light of day. He wins; PN remains in government. Secondly, no group of MPs can form a majority coalition which means even if there’s a vote on his Budget, it will be passed. He wins; PN remains in government.

But a NOC? He has no control over! If it is set up, Muhyiddin and PN must step down. The Agong can dismiss him and his Cabinet as summarily as they were installed.

It would be a very good idea for PKR, the DAP, Amanah and Warisan to reach out to Tun to work with him on the NOC proposal and to present a united stand on managing the covid 19 pandemic through the NOC to the Agong. Other party members who are willing to forget about party affiliations can join in the effort. The NOC’s brief must be specific: To manage the covid 19 pandemic and facilitate economic recovery.

The NOC must also have an expiry date — six to eight months — with the possibility of an extension. The expiry date must not go beyond the date for the next general election, on or before 16 September 2023. If the pandemic is controlled, snap elections can be called before that or the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Plus government minus Bersatu — because it betrayed the PH — or any other temporary form of government can be installed by the Agong to govern until the next elections.

The terms of reference must be clearly spelt out to everyone’s satisfaction, even with regard to the prime minister’s candidacy. Tun has declared he doesn’t want to be PM again so, Anwar may get his chance finally.

Tun may be open to work with his former PH partners if Anwar abandons plans to form an alliance with the court cluster in Umno. It would be better for PKR because PKR will lose much support if it allies itself with the court cluster in Umno.

Muhyiddin is hoping that Selangor’s daily high number of active cases will come down to justify exiting his covid 19 plan on the basis that it worked. That belies the reality. Selangor is the only state that is implementing aggressive testing so naturally the figures will be high. Because it started earlier, its figures may eventually drop, by Muhyiddin’s estimation in September so that he can call for Parliament then to pass the Budget. Again, that’s his strategy to prolong his stay in power.

However, it is not known if all the other states are also aggressively testing for covid 19 cases to flush out the spreaders and isolate them. If they are not, and Muhyiddin exits the covid 19 plan, the pandemic would not be controlled. There may be future breakouts which will have to be dealt with with more MCOs which will disrupt the economy. In other words, Muhyiddin’s strategy is to extend PN’s tenure in government without resolving the covid 19 crisis and that will take this nation downhill.

That is the most logical and powerful justification for a NOC, which Tun has now renamed as the National Rehabilitative Council. Any policy to control the covid 19 pandemic must involve nationwide aggressive testing, contact tracing and supportive hospital care, vaccination and cooperation from both the public and private sectors. The figures will be initially high but as testing eventually eases, the figures will drop, including the death tally.

If the NOC succeeds — and it can — the NOC members would prove to the people that they have their interests at heart and that will work in their favour in a general election.

There is no time to lose. The former PH Plus partners and others need to come together to present a strong case to the Agong to set up Tun’s National Rehabilitative Council as a well-thought of concerted joint effort in bringing the covid 19 pandemic under control. They should not miss this opportunity.

No choice but to reconvene Parliament

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So, the political circus has begun. The Agong is on a round of meetings with the leaders of political parties. There is some talk that Prihatin Nasional (PN) leader Muhyiddin Yassin is stepping down, that Sembrong MP (Umno) Hishamuddin Hussein currently in the former’s Cabinet may take over and MPs are frantically making statutory declarations to get positions in government.

A buzz of political activity! How, in any way, is this helping the people and more urgently providing a solution to arrest the high covid-19 death toll? Zilch! Zero effect!

What the people are seeing are simply politicians running around like headless chicken.

The reason why we are having covid-19 active cases and a death tally dangerously hovering at the cusp of a collapsed health system is because of a lack of top leadership. The recent surge in covid-19 cases hitting South Asian nations isn’t anyone’s fault; it’s the way the covid-19 virus is spreading. But the way each nation is managing it is a reflection of the abilities of the national leadership. In this respect Malaysia has performed dismally because our death toll rose swiftly steeply from around 300 in March this year to over 3,500 in just three months as of today.

This is a clear indication that the PN leadership has failed in effectively managing the covid-19 pandemic, for which it must hold itself responsible and step down.

In the face of that possibility, politicians are going beserk to see who and how they can take over. My two-bit, no body’s advice: Please stop the politicking and look to the federal constitution on the democratic ways to solve this problem.

One of the reasons why the PN has failed to control the spread of covid-19 in the country is because it is unable to get the support of the people. It’s surprising that a Malay-majority coalition touting itself as representative of the Malay majority can’t move its support base to abide by the Movement Control Order (MCO) and get vaccinated. That’s a reflection of an unable leadership.

The people apparently recognize double standards and have lost confidence in the leadership. This is also proof that an unelected government will never be able to get the voluntary support of the people. Most importantly, it shows a huge disconnect between the leaders and the people which the PN has failed to bridge.

If Muhyiddin refuses to call for the reconvening of Parliament, a National Operations Council (NOC) may seem like a solution in that all the excess fat of a 70-member Cabinet will be chopped off under a tight national leadership which will eliminate bickering among politicians as well, and the council can get down to the sole business of controlling the pandemic.

The NOC may work, but, I believe, Malaysian politicians need to learn and be trained to operate within the ambit of the federal constitution instead of finding solutions according to political expediency or practical real exigencies. The NOC is a practical solution but it won’t help to ingrain this very urgently needed characteristic of operating by the law among local politicians.

The solution is to return to Parliament. The strident calls and urgent clamour from across the nation must be to lift emergency and reconvene Parliament immediately.

Muhyiddin needs to advise the Agong on this immediately. He can no longer wait. And he must face a no-confidence vote because that is the requirement in a democratic country practising the government system of parliamentary democracy.

It may seem as if the Opposition is in disarray and a significant majority coalition is not evident. That should not be the reason why a no-confidence vote should not be called. Muhyiddin’s coalition has lost the confidence of the people and his leadership or the lack of it has become a liability to the nation. It’s untenable for him to remain in power.

Without a choice being presented to them, MPs may not choose decisively. But, when a choice is given in the form of a no-confidence vote, they will have no choice but to act decisively. This is how the federal constitution forces the MPs to act according to the law and our MPs need to demonstrate strict compliance with the federal constitution.

If Muhyiddin refuses to reconvene Parliament immediately it would be seen as a wilful action on his part to prevent resolution of the leadership issue and at the cost of more lives. If Muhyiddin wishes to salvage his reputation as a man of integrity, he will reconvene Parliament immediately and face a no-confidence vote.

A way out for Bersatu

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Surely, Prihatin Nasional (PN) head Muhyiddin Yassin must be considering options for the survival of his party. If PN continues in government, Muhyiddin faces the prospects of losing the support of his voter base due to public frustration and loss of confidence in his leadership in the face of the steeply rising daily active covid 19 cases and death count.

He may be tempted to resign which he mustn’t do now. If he resigns, his Cabinet resigns with him but the coalition doesn’t and coalition partners Umno and PAS — which still maintain their Muafakat Nasional pact — may decide to work out a deal and with royal approval take over the government as PN did when it wrested power from the elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) rightful government. And, they will claim it is constitutional as Muhyiddin did. A political upheaval during these trying times should be avoided at all cost.

To prevent Umno from seizing power, there’s only one option left for Muhyiddin: Reconvene Parliament and face a no-confidence vote. If he wins it, he earns the right to lead the government. If he loses, it means the coalition — not just the Bersatu-led Cabinet — falls and it paves the way for the formation of a unity government, which will allow for a reset to start all over again on the right footing on constitutional grounds in the Dewan Rakyat. Political stability is maintained.

In other words, the current conflict between Bersatu and Umno and the issue of the legitimacy of the PN will be resolved in Parliament once and for all. The reset will take politics back to alignment with the federal constitution with the MPs deciding on the prime minister of the unity government who will form the unity Cabinet.

A unity government will not overnight bring down the covid 19 active cases and death figures nor bring about immediate economic recovery. But it will have ministers with skills, abilities and some experience to lay a strong groundwork for the quickest turnaround.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently and immediately and Muhyiddin should not drag his feet in allowing for an alternative — even if it only has a slim chance to better manage the covid 19 crisis and economic recovery — to happen, because lives will be saved.

If he chooses to remain in government, waiting for the rise in covid 19 cases to peak and then fall, the damage would be done. The voters will not forget their loss and grief. It would also be clear to them that his motive is for personal gain rather than the good of the people. Muhyiddin’s and Bersatu’s political future would be at risk.

If — for the good of the nation — Muhyiddin reconvenes Parliament, faces a no-confidence vote, and even if he loses the premiership, Bersatu stands a chance to remain a viable party.

Because the covid 19 crisis is heading for a state when the public health system collapses, it is imperative that Muhyiddin seizes the opportunity Parliament offers for an alternative government to better manage the pandemic and the economy.

I believe a unity government formed in the Dewan Rakyat will succeed and benefit the people. Muhyiddin can make it happen — if he reconvenes Parliament.

I hope he does. He’ll save his party and the country.

Be accountable to the people and reconvene Parliament

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Pasir Salak MP (Umno) Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was sacked as Prasarana Malaysia Bhd chairman following a morning press conference after a collision involving two LRT trains on the night of May 24 in which more than 200 were injured, some of them critically. At the press conference, he flippantly referred to the accident as “two trains kissing”. He was fired immediately.

Ultimately, it is the government of the day which is responsible for the heads of government-linked companies (GLCs) and in this case, to most peoples’ relief, the Prihatin Nasional (PN) coalition in government acted swiftly and decisively. Questions, however, remain as to whether the finance minister acted according to the constitution.

Those are similar questions we ask about the legitimacy of the PN leadership in the seat of government. The way PN seized power, introduced emergency and suspended Parliament and the state assemblies, demand close scrutiny as to whether they followed the spirit and intent of the federal constitution. Constitutional “irregularities” are greater offences than an uncouth village idiot’s crass insensitivity and callous indifference to human suffering. Yet, the PN remains in the government seat while Tajuddin has been booted out.

No doubt, held accountable, the government acted to dismiss an errant appointment. But who is the PN leadership accountable to? The king? Apparently no, because the king has stated he has no issue with calling for Parliament but PN head Muhyiddin Yassin has refused to comply. Accountable to the people? Apparently no, because at a press conference last week on the sickeningly rising daily numbers of covid-19 cases and deaths, he simply said on national TV, “Call me stupid PM, but ….. ” and in effect left it to the people to handle the pandemic on their own!

Muhyiddin appeared as if threw up his hands in despair in the face of a health disaster and left it to the people to fend for themselves. Isn’t that an abdication of responsibility? Coming from a caring coalition?

Apparently Muhyiddin is accountable to no one, not even to the constitution. Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad described it aptly when he said that Muhyiddin “was above the federal constitution and all laws”!

Muhyiddin’s inconsistencies — intentional or otherwise — are greater in significance than petty Tajuddin’s thoughtlessness. Yet he continues to remain in government with impunity.

Today’s covid-19 cases crossed the 8,000 mark and registered 8,290 after three days in the 7,000 range. Today’s death tally was 61. The reason for the steeply rising covid-19 figures is largely due to the poor management of the pandemic and Muhyiddin has to assume responsibility for it. If the pandemic was well managed, the figures wouldn’t be rising so quickly and steeply. Look at Singapore’s well-managed pandemic. It recorded 26 new cases yesterday and the total deaths are only 32.

The people who are suffering most are mostly in the rural and semi-rural areas, which is the support base of PN MPs. Vaccination is picking up in the urban areas but vaccine hesitancy is a major issue in the rural areas. Kedah and Kelantan recorded 10,000 who missed their vaccination appointments.

The health, economic and political prospects look so bleak that a PN MP (Umno) Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman has called for a unity government to take over. It’s a very good idea but the issue of the prime minister would still be a problem.

A better idea would be to reconvene Parliament where the unity government can be discussed and agreed upon constitutionally. A unity government would allow for the entire country to be mobilized to fight the covid-19 pandemic.

Muhyiddin needs to realise that opposition parties have a diversity of resources and when summoned for the collective good will yield favourable results. PN’s MCA, MIC, PBS and STAR do not have the majority support of their respective communities. They only have one MP in each party. But, DAP, PKR, Warisan, Amanah and Pejuang have majority support in their constituencies and will be able to wield influence to move the grassroots and economic communities to win support for the vaccination programme and arrest the pandemic.

A unity government will be able to move the masses even under a full-force lockdown, which has been announced today from June 1 to 14.

If Muhyiddin refuses to get the help of Parliament, he will be held responsible for the current trajectory we are on. If an election is held in the future it would be political suicide for him and Bersatu.

If “as prime minister”, he truly cares for this country, he should reconvene Parliament and the state assemblies and facilitate the formation of a unity government in the Dewan Rakyat in order to save the country.

PN’s deafening silence

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Last Friday, retiring Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador exposed his boss, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, as a meddling leader who allegedly attempted to interfere with the management of the police force and to use it for political advantage.

It raised a hue and cry but Hamzah did not respond to the criticisms and brick bats hurled at him. Nor did his boss, Muhyiddin Yassin, who sits in the prime minister’s seat and who, ultimately, is responsible for the performance of his bloated 70-member Cabinet. Why this silence?

Why maintain this heavily guilt-ridden silence for failing to be accountable to the people? Is this supposed to be the style of the PN leadership? Or, simply the indefensible defensive action of weak and insecure people who have been found out but refuse to accept responsibility for their action or inaction?

Hamid’s expose of Hamzah is a serious allegation and should be addressed by Muhyiddin yet nothing is being done to deal with Hamzah. Not only should Hamzah be disciplined but the PN coalition should resign on account of it because it amounts to failure to lead.

Muhyiddin’s so called “leadership” has led to a minister being accused by no less than the top cop himself and it must be acted upon not glossed over with silence. His leadership has led to one rule for ministers and another for the rest, a minister caught sleeping on the job, others who are invisible and, most importantly, the questionable management of the covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia with daily cases rising over 3,000, bringing the cumulative total to 427,927. The daily single-digit death tally went up to 23 on May 6.

Yet, no response from PN head, Muhyiddin. He is not alone in his seeming paralysis. India’s sick are dying without hospital beds and access to oxygen. The death toll there has averaged over 3,600 per day in the last seven days. In the face of such unbearable tragedy Prime Minister Narendra Modi has maintained an inelegant silence.

Citizens are dying but poor and weak leaders keep silent. Good leaders will face the people, accept criticisms and suggestions and improve. If their leadership does not benefit the people, they resign. DAP supremo, Lim Kit Siang, in exasperation, ended his article on the dangerous state of our pandemic (Makaysiakini, May 6) by pointedly saying “Malaysia is suffering at having the worst prime minister and the worst government in its 63-year history!”

Yet, not a word from Muhyiddin. He can’t or won’t handle Hamzah; he can’t or won’t reconvene Parliament. If he does, there’s still hope that a bipartisan effort will help arrest the rapid spread of the pandemic and decline of the economy. He can’t operate without the people’s money and resorts to selling assets; he won’t face the people with the truth. But, he wants to remain in power and refuses the help Parliament can offer. Thick-skinned and conscienceless.

Sworn in by the Agong, he needs to ask himself if he and his Cabinet are making the Agong look good? If the Cabinet has failed the trust of the Agong, it must resign. Whether there is an alternative coalition to take over the government or not is not Muhyiddin’s concern. He must step down and let those who can, take over the government because any government (without PAS and Umno) will be better than this!

The country isn’t looking good and Muhyiddin’s silence, like Modi’s, speaks eloquently of a dismally failing government. It’s an inelegant but deafening silence of its abilities or lack of them.

Better to step down than run the country into the ground!

Where is honour among MPs?

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On March 26, the White House uploaded on its website a statement announcing the list of countries whose leaders have been invited to attend a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate that US President Joe Biden will host on April 22 and 23. The countries invited included the G7 nations and China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. Notably absent in the list was Malaysia.

The leading democratic nation of the world apparently has no confidence that the present leadership of Malaysia with its rich resources is a worthy partner in the worldwide effort to manage the climate which is becoming the predominant issue of the world. Malaysia used to be the leader in Asean in representing regional issues but it appears as if Indonesia and Singapore are being recognised as the leaders best able to lead this charge into the future.

But does the Prihatin Nasional (PN) coalition care how it is viewed by the rest of the world? If it doesn’t care how it is viewed by its own people, would that matter? Well, it may not matter now because the world is still grappling with the covid 19 pandemic. But as the world gradually opens up to rebuilding the economy, Malaysia will find limited sources of funds and may end up like former Prime Minister Najib Razak looking to China and Saudi Arabia for funds and paying a heavy price for it. How will the PN be any different from Najib’s government then?

At least, the Najib government was legitimate because it was an elected government with a proven majority. But, can the PN government claim that legal and constitutional standing?

PN needs to take a good look at itself and consider how it is being viewed and why. Then, perhaps, it will realise that it has no standing to stay in government — not even under emergency — and resign. The reason why it has left a trail of political instability is because of questions of its legitimacy. That may also affect the way the world views it. How can democratically-elected governments recognise Malaysia as a peer among them when issues of its legitimacy remain unresolved? Demonstrate able leadership by convening Parliament and face a no confidence vote or resign.

Resigning is a way of making a dignified exit when you know you have lost, but Malaysian politicians apparently know nothing about honour. Their motto: Cling on because you can to stay in power. Honour is irrelevant if you can’t stay in government.

GPS is no different

Following the recent High Court decision, when PN sent the “Allah” issue to the rulers for a deliberation, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) went into a huddle. The decision would affect the constitutional rights of 40 % of Sarawak’s population who are Christians and ethnic non-Malay bumiputeras. GPS’ alliance with PN has put the constitutional religious rights of this the largest community in Sarawak at risk. Yet, its MPs have chosen to align itself with PN and yesterday expressed their support for Muhyiddin as prime minister.

GPS has seemingly sold off the constitutional rights of its own people for federal government support. The logic behind the decision escapes me.

With Umno now having declared it will pull out of PN after Aug 1 when the emergency ends, PN is on its way out, unless PN leader Muhyiddin Yassin intends to stay on by not upholding the constitution and proving its majority in Parliament. Perhaps, GPS suspects that is what will happen and have decided to throw in their lot with Muhyiddin. Common sense, however, dictates that with Umno out, PN will have no majority and GPS will be unable to be kingmaker. Why is it allying itself with a coalition that has no standing to remain in government and which will put the constitutional rights of its own people at risk?

It would be interesting to see how its voters will react regarding this issue in the upcoming Sarawak state elections. GPS may still win but my prediction is that it will lose its comfortable majority and it will lose its position to be kingmaker.

GPS’s decision to support Muhyiddin makes no sense. GPS should resign and be independents in the Dewan Rakyat and protect the interests of its people. But, apparently, typical of Malaysian politicians, political expediency for whatever misguided reason comes before duty to your voters. No honour in that, it appears!

The Opposition that isn’t the alternative

To be fair to GPS, it faced a difficult choice. It did not have a viable alternative to join and did not have the guts to go it alone. If Muhyiddin is responsible for the continuous state of political unrest we are in, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has only itself to blame for being unable to provide an alternative.

PKR is realising that without former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Opposition alliance Pakatan Harapan (PH) is facing an issue of credibility. Neither PN nor Umno/BN wants to ally with PH. Without Mahathir, neither GPS nor Sabah’s Warisan will join it. PH with PKR, DAP and Amanah can together have about 88 MPs on its side. That is insufficient to form a majority coalition and it can’t lure other parties to join in.

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim thought he could get the court cluster of Umno MPs facing criminal charges in court to join PH but Umno president Zahid Hamidi poured cold water on that prospect when he said at the Umno general assembly last weekend that there would be no alliance with PKR or DAP.

Umno apparently has been given a lifeline and it is resurging and feels confident it can go it alone. But like PH and PN, individually, none of these coalitions will get a majority. So, even if elections are held now, the outcome would be no different from the current political situation.

But if PKR decides to work with Mahathir, PH could get the support of both Warisan and GPS and that would be a clear majority coalition which neither Umno/BN nor PN will be able to match. This is the rightful government of Malaysia which won the mandate to govern in GE14 in 2018.

Again, the logic escapes me as to why Anwar will not respect the GE14 mandate of the people just because he doesn’t want to work with Mahathir. Personal reasons should be set aside and the mandate of the people should be respected. If Anwar will not take the lead to restore the GE14 mandate, it is not surprising that parties like GPS and Warisan are abandoning it and finding politically expedient ways to hold on to power.

If Anwar follows the spirit and intent of the constitution and pushes for the restoration of PH Plus, he would solve the current impasse and demonstrate his ability to abide by the constitution even if it means he wouldn’t be prime minister. He will win the respect of the people and he might still become PM in the near future.

Anwar can resolve the current stalemate. The question is whether he sees honour in doing so at personal cost.

Putting the interests of voters first, over political expediency, for the good of the nation is honourable. I am waiting to see who among our MPs will demonstrate such honour. I am still waiting …. .

The biggest political ‘joke’ that isn’t funny

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Like what veteran Umno politician and former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam said, the current political goings-on in the country is a real “joke”.

Indeed, it is. For Musa what was a joke was all the defections that are taking place now. For me, yes, that’s a joke but what is a more serious and real joke is that a coalition remains in government without proving its majority and uses its incumbent position to lure Opposition MPs to join it to get a majority! How absurd is that! How can that be constitutional? So funny!

What is even funnier is PN leader Muhyiddin Yassin taking a picture with two Opposition MPs who claimed to have become independent and defected to the PN and using that photo opportunity to announce, “I have 111 MPs”! How would he know if other MPs in his coalition still support him? What a joke!

Immediately after that announcement, Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Anwar Ibrahim claimed that he, too, had a majority.

Now, who really has the majority? Claiming a majority with a few defections isn’t proof of a majority. Besides, any MP can claim to have a majority.

A majority can only be proven when a party or coalition passes the test of a confidence vote in Parliament. Until that happens any coalition’s claim of a majority is questionable.

From the moment Muhyiddin was sworn in as prime minister, his majority in Parliament was suspect. From Day 1 in government, he sought to maintain a narrow majority by poaching MPs from the Opposition supposedly with all sorts of enticements.

Apparently, he was never certain of his majority because he was not willing to face a confidence or no-confidence vote to prove it. Questions can be asked as to whether that was constitutional. Secondly, when Muhyiddin lost his tenuous one-MP majority early this year, he didn’t resign. Following the loss of a majority, he sought emergency powers saying it was solely for the purposes of managing the covid-19 pandemic and continued to remain in government.

Like Musa, so many leaders and the public have called on Muhyiddin to prove his majority. The most recent was Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who withdrew his support from the PN coalition and in recent statements has declared that the PN needs to show its majority.

Despite the clamour over the PN’s legitimacy, it shows no inclination to prove its majority in the Dewan Rakyat though it has made a public claim it has “111 MPs” and refuses to resign. A real joke.

Now, the PN coalition has introduced an emergency fake news ordinance and, according to Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan, saying that the PN sought emergency because it lost its majority is fake news! Another joke!

I give up being rational and sensible! Too many jokers around.

Umno in strategic position to change its future course

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Umno has officially declared that it will not join the Perihatin Nasional (PN) coalition in the next general elections. That might be a good move on Umno’s part if it reflects grassroots disillusionment with its coalition partner junior party Bersatu which wants to call the shots.

That grassroots disillusionment is a good sign; it shows that Umno’s Malay grassroots have realised that Umno’s majority position in PN will not be to its advantage if it undermines Bersatu’s desire to remain in power.

With Umno out of PN, PN can no longer claim that it is a Malay majority coalition. Any other coalition is now poised to assume the role of a Malay-majority grouping if Umno plays its cards wisely. Umno should be prepared to sacrifice its “court cluster” leaders facing criminal charges in court for the sake of political survival.

If Umno has severed ties with PN from the next general elections, why doesn’t it withdraw from PN now? It should heed its adviser Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s call for its “cluster of ministers” to resign from PN now to uphold its dignity.

Umno MPs in PN may not want to resign for the same reason PN doesn’t want to resign although it can’t prove its majority. These Malay MPs need to be in government to have access to funds to pour into their constituencies to ensure continued support.

Giving funds to MPs is not the issue. But to deprive Opposition MPs or coalition MPs who do not support the PN of such funds is childishly punitive.

But, that’s the PN’s style of leadership. Unable to use theirs skills or (perhaps, lacking in them) and resources at their disposal through negotiations and proper management, they resort to the big stick. If you don’t support PN leader Muhyiddin Yassin, we’ll punish you. If people will not abide by our requests with regard to covid-19, we’ll  seek emergency to force compliance. (They never thought that maybe they should dialogue with stakeholders to get their support or maybe they just don’t have abilities to do that and so threaten them with emergency.) If Umno threatens to pull out of PN, we’ll seek emergency from the Agong. If MPs want to question our legitimacy, we’ll advise the Agong to prorogue Parliament.

We need laws to protect the people from leaders who abuse their position in government for self-serving  interests. Any new government must also consider levelling the playing field for all MPs. Instead of the ruling government determining how much of government funds each MP gets, MPs’ allocations should be determined by Parliament with every MP getting the same amount. The allocation must be disbursed irrespective of which coalition is in government.

This will remove the need to switch parties or stay in government illegitimately in order to get funds to pacify voters so as to win elections.

So, yes, it is obvious why PN won’t resign and neither would Umno’s cluster of ministers in PN, although the latter should if it has any sense of dignity and allegiance and loyalty to the party.

The loss of government funds would only be for a short while if the new government reforms fund allocations to MPs. Hence, it would be advantageous for Umno’s cluster of ministers to resign. It shows they can’t be bought and that might work in their favour in the next general elections.

To make things easier, it might be better for Umno to pull out of PN now, thus, its cluster of ministers will have no choice but to resign. If they don’t, it means they have interests outside of Umno and that’s a big risk they would be taking because it may cost them votes in the next general elections.

If Umno pulls out of PN now, Parliament must be convened to test PN’s majority. If it loses a confidence vote, PN must resign.

That’s a cheaper and constitutionally correct way of testing support for a party or coalition then wielding the big stick of a general election which is very costly and will be disruptive in the aftermath of the pandemic and in which Bersatu stands to lose rather than gain.

A pause and a reset under Dr M is the way forward

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It seems a little strange that the topic of an imminent general election has come up again when the Agong has said Parliament can be convened during the current Emergency, which suggests that the possibility of that happening precedes a general election.

So, why aren’t the politicians raising a hue and cry to call for the convening of a sitting of Parliament? Surely, that should be a priority so that they can establish the legitimacy of the Prihatin Nasional (PN) coalition since it has lost its majority, and demand its resignation?

The legitimacy of the PN government should be top on the agenda of any parliamentary sitting. The PN coalition should be made to comply with the Federal Constitution and if it doesn’t it should be removed and an example set so that future coup plotters know what to expect.

As I have said in my last post, the best option for the PN coalition now is to resign. It would save the Malay race, religion and royalty from any further embarrassment domestically and internationally than it has already caused. With the court cases that have been initiated against PN coalition leader Muhyiddin Yassin, the PN needs to ask itself if it has made race, religion and royalty look good or made a spectacle of itself and these — the very things it claims to represent and stand for. Better to resign and save face.

The resignation of the PN coalition will result in one very good thing for the nation. It will halt the clamouring of Malay politicians to become the prime minister through illegitimate means. It will put national politics at pause, giving political parties a breathing space to examine their options and choose the right leaders to represent them in the future. Politics will be forced to return to the normal correct procedures of choosing leaders and short-cuts will be aborted, thus maintaining adherence to the federal constitution.

Calling for a general election now will simply continue the cockfights among competitors and the chaotic unconstitutional political environment. A pause will get politicians out of the cooking cauldron and gain a fresh perspective on the directions to take within the scope and leeway granted by the federal constitution.

Right now, the best person to manage the nation under pause is former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He has no future ambition except the good of the nation and during the pause he will also be able to reset the nation on course in accordance with the federal constitution.

The past year has shown several loopholes and the opportunities they offered to political parties to seize the government. Questions have to be raised and addressed so a repeat doesn’t happen. For example, when a ruling coalition loses power mid-term and another party or coalition claims a majority, should its nomination for prime minister be sworn in before facing a confidence vote in the Dewan Rakyat? If competing coalitions claim a majority, what is the process to test which coalition has a majority?

Can an interim prime minister call for a parliamentary session so that a coalition with a majority can be found and tested in Parliament? Who then should call for a Dewan Rakyat session and how?

When a party or coalition refuses to resign when it has lost its majority, how will it be removed? Should laws be set in place to empower an official in authority like the Opposition Leader or chief secretary to the government to speak to the Agong and advise him to direct the police and armed forces to escort the rogue and his cabinet of cohorts out of their offices? These are issues that need to be addressed.

In developed democracies, procedures are set in place so that leaders who stage a coup can be escorted out of office and that is the reason why they don’t have coups. When former US President Donald Trump threatened to refuse to recognise the results of the presidential elections and stay on in the White House, the democrats were calm, simplying stating that they knew what to do to get him out of office.

Our democracy was tested this past year and in anticipation of future claimants to power, laws and the correct procedures to facilitate a change of government in mid-term should be set in place so that an illegitimate government can not be formed.

Such changes may require a two-thirds majority for amendments to be made in the Dewan Rakyat and right now there’s only one person who can command such a majority and that is Tun Dr Mahathir.

Unlike other Malaysian political leaders, Tun knows the proper procedures to maintain constitutional integrity and he should be allowed to return as prime minister to reset the political temperature so that laws can be introduced or streamlined to ensure political instability is managed without disrupting the life of the nation.

Political leaders desiring to become the prime minister or parties wanting to lead the government should temporarily abandon their private agendas and ambitions and give Tun all the support he needs to form a majority government after the PN government resigns.

Tun would likely remain as prime minister until the next general elections, but, by that time, with the support of the majority, he would have set in place the right government structures to curb corruption and laws and regulations to make a coup in Malaysia impossible. Parliament must hold him to these ideals.

If Malaysian leaders genuinely put the nation first, those who should resign will resign and others will help Tun to form a coalition with a majority to take over.

A pause and a reset will pave the way for a more stable political future than what we have witnessed this past year and enable new leaders to emerge in the proper way, through their party channels and eventually through a general election.

The only option left for the PN coalition

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I’m dumbfounded after reading a news report which quoted two local “political analysts” who claimed that the call for a parliamentary sitting was aimed at questioning the government’s legitimacy for having lost its majority.

In a Malaysiakini report today, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) geostrategist Azmi Hassan said, “The problem is when the Parliament sitting is exploited for political agenda, such as to pressure the prime minister to resign, to dissolve the Parliament, to question the majority, and so on.” And that it is not used for check-and-balance of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thinking along the same lines, another political analyst, Jeniri Amir, said that the Parliament sitting can be resumed “if the lawmakers only focus on five aspects – namely Covid-19, security, education, the people, and policy”.

Unbelievable! This coming from so-called scholars! Firstly, if such scholars need to be told that a government can’t operate unless it is legitimate, I don’t know if it’s worth considering their input. Secondly, if such scholars are advising the Prihatin Nasional (PN) coalition, then, it’s no wonder that the coalition refuses to resign from occupying the government of Malaysia.

I wonder if people who hold such notions understand democracy and democratic practices and conventions. The fundamental basis of democracy is rule by the majority. If a party or coalition can’t get a majority, it can’t rule.

Any democratic government must first establish it has the support of the majority. If it can’t prove that support, it can not rule. It’s as simple as that! Parliament’s role includes establishing if a ruling government has that majority. It’s not a case of “politicking”; it’s the MPs’ job to ensure that the votes of the majority are respected.

Scholars need to be told all this?

Does Muhyiddin Yassin, Bersatu president and head of the PN coalition, need to be told this? Is he adhering to democratic principles or using political expediency to remain as prime minister?

On Jan 9, when the Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub (Umno) withdrew his support for Muhyiddin and the number of MPs supporting Muhyiddin dropped to 110 of the 220 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, the PN coalition lost its majority. The PN government automatically fell on Jan 9 and it should have resigned and advised the Agong to call for a new government with a majority. But, it didn’t do that.

It continued to remain in government although it is now an occupying government — not elected, a minority and operating without legitimacy. On Jan 12,  the Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz (Umno) announced his withdrawal of support for Muhyiddin and the number of PN’s MPs went down to 109, clearly showing PN has lost its majority. Why didn’t PN resign?

Instead, as an illegitimate government, Muhyiddin ran to the Agong and sought for Emergency purportedly to manage the covid-19 pandemic, which he got, and when it was gazetted, the government prior to Jan 11 (the day he saw the Agong) was retroactively recognised as the government of the day. But, between Jan 9 and Jan 11, the PN coalition was an illegitimate government. So, an illegitimate government was allowed to rule under Emergency, thanks to Muhyiddin’s clever politics.

Since the Emergency was declared by the Agong, everyone is respecting that decision and not questioning it. But, does Muhyiddin realise that since he was given emergency powers only to manage the covid-19 pandemic, all the decisions he can make can only be related to the management of the covid-19 pandemic?

Neither he nor any of his Cabinet members can represent the government of Malaysia in any other capacity except in relation to the management of the covid-19 pandemic. They can’t make official visits abroad or locally. They can’t make any appointments or policy decisions. They can’t make new allocations. They can’t make public addresses. They can’t do any of the above or any other aspect of government except where it concerns the management of the covid-19 pandemic.

If the PN emergency government does anything other than that related to the pandemic, all of it can be thrown out when a new government takes over or challenged in court.

The best option for the PN coalition is to resign. It’s not just the person assuming the prime minister’s position who should resign, but all the PN members assuming Cabinet positions must resign. The reason for this is because it is an unelected minority government that was not reinstalled officially when it lost its majority on Jan 9 and automatically fell as a government.

If the PN coalition had resigned and then reinstalled by the Agong as an interim government until a majority government is formed, there would be no question of its legitimacy. But if the PN government resigns and another coalition is able to command a majority, that coalition becomes the new government.

It is when a ruling party or coalition loses its majority that it falls — automatically. It is not when the prime minister resigns that the ruling party or coalition falls. When a PM resigns because he has lost the support of the ruling party or coalition, someone else from the party or coalition can become the PM. But if the ruling party or coalition loses its majority, the prime minister must tender his resignation and the resignation of his entire Cabinet.

That’s what has happened in Italy. The previous Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned when the small Italia Viva party withdrew from the ruling coalition leaving him with a minority. He didn’t resign because he lost the support of his party. Italian president Sergio Mattarella then called on former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to form a majority. He succeeded and faced a confidence vote in Parliament which he won handsomely.

That’s the procedure for forming a majority government when a ruling government loses its majority in a democracy. If that procedure was followed in Malaysia, we would not be in the state we are in now.

A year ago, when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition remained intact. Bersatu, his party then, could have replaced him with another candidate and submitted that name to the PH coalition for consideration. PH could have accepted, rejected and/or nominated its own candidate until a consensus was reached through negotiations.

However, that possibility did not materialise because, within hours of Mahathir’s resignation, Muhyiddin withdrew Bersatu from PH causing it to lose its majority and hence that government fell automatically. Muhyiddin was subsequently named as PM because he could get a majority with Umno’s support. The expectation was that that nomination would face a confidence vote in Parliament and there was still time for another coalition to be formed. Within a day, Mahathir was able to form another coalition with 113 MPs’ support, which means Muhyiddin lost his majority.

By right, Muhyiddin should have told the Agong then that he had lost the majority and advised him to contact Mahathir to test his majority. That’s how it is played out in a democracy. But, Muhyiddin did not do that.

One year later, Muhyiddin has done the same. He lost his majority on Jan 9 and he should have resigned. He didn’t resign and is continuing as an uninstalled government. He may have non-democratic reasons for wanting to remain in government. If that is so, he should announce what those reasons are and seek reelection and if he gets a two-third majority he can amend the Federal Constitution to suit his purposes. Until then, he has to abide by the Federal Constitution and follow the correct procedures of establishing a legitimate government. Failing to do so would simply make the PN coalition an illegitimate government. He needs to speak with constitutional experts to guide him in the decisions he has to make.

If Muhyiddin is serious about setting a good example for future potential prime ministers, he and his Cabinet will resign. That’s the only option left and the honourable thing to do.