AN opposition lawmaker today questioned if Muhyiddin Yassin was the rightful prime minister when he advised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare a state of emergency.

Sg Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah said from a political perspective, Muhyiddin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government did not command majority support in Parliament.

“We know that some Umno members pulled out their support for the PM (Muhyiddin).

“So it looks like the MPs supporting the PM are less than the majority. So, the advice to Agong (on emergency) is questionable,” Sivarasa said during a discussion on “people’s rights and emergency from a constitutional view”.

The Malaysian Insight had reported on January 12 that Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz had withdrawn his support for Muhyiddin after Umno’s Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub also withdrew support, reducing PN’s parliamentary seats to 109.

On the same day, the king declared a state of emergency in the country until August 1 to curb the increasing number of Covid-19 infections.

Muhyiddin had said the state of emergency was to give the government more powers to fight the pandemic.

Sivarasa said if MPs from Umno and the opposition officially reject their support for Muhyiddin and his cabinet, then the Agong can reject the emergency.

He said it is crucial that Parliament convenes to show if Muhyiddin has the support.

“For example, if Umno president (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) announces that his MPs have officially pulled out their support for Muhyiddin, then the Agong can reject the emergency,” Sivarasa said.

“It is the same with the opposition. If they seek an audience with the Agong and show they have a majority, then PN will collapse.”

He also said that it is crucial that Parliament convenes to show if Muhyiddin has the support.

“Parliament must convene to see if Muhyiddin has the majority,” Sivarasa said, adding that the king can even have face-to-face meetings with MPs to gauge their support.

Pejuang lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, in the same discussion, questioned the rationale of imposing emergency.

“Why do we need the emergency? During the first lockdown (MCO 1.0) we didn’t need it and then 10 months later we have an emergency.

“Was it to fight the pandemic or was it a political move? The rakyat and opposition are questioning this,” Rafique said. – May 27, 2021.