BY resorting to emergency rule, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has conceded that he has lost majority support, said Umno’s Nazri Abdul Aziz.

The  Padang Rengas MP said there is no need for such a drastic measure, purportedly to contain the Covid-19 epidemic, as the prime minister has already put the country under various versions of the movement control order.

“By declaring an emergency he is admitting defeat. What need is there to declare an emergency when you have the movement control order?” Nazri said at a press conference at Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

“He has lost the majority which means a general election must be called. But instead he calls for an emergency. 

“This seems more like a political emergency.”

Nazri said he was not demanding for elections to be held at once but merely wished to point out that with only 109 MPs left on Perikatan Nasional’s side, “the government has collapsed.”

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today announced assent to Putrajaya’s request to declare a state of emergency to end on August 1.

This morning after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consented to the emergency,

Muhyiddin said the emergency was aimed at giving the government more powers to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Parliament will be suspended during the emergency period and there will be no by-elections or state and national elections,” said Muhyiddin on live television today.

While in a state of emergency, the government is empowered to enact new laws to fight the epidemic more effectively, he said.

Muhyiddin denied he had resorted to emergency rule to cling on to power after losing majority support this week.

“This emergency is not a military coup and curfew will not be enforced.

“The civilian government will continue to function as usual,” he said.

Nazri said he expects at least two more Umno MPs to abandon Muhyiddin soon.

He is certain that Umno, with the backing of its partner PAS, can win the elections that are now due.

“We are confident that with PAS we can win. We will face elections as Muafakat Nasional, BN and PAS. We can talk later about working with DAP.”

Nazri said he can wait for the general election no matter how long Muhyiddin will put it off.

“I can wait six months, no problem. You can run, run and run but you cannot run all the time.” – January 12, 2021.