Commentary by Kabilan Kandasamy

EMBATTLED Muhyiddin Yassin could very well be in his last day as the prime minister.

Coming into the position through a back-room deal in March last year, the Pagoh MP’s tenure was always dependent on the goodwill of his new friends, especially those from Umno.

And after months of threatening to pull the rug, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi finally did that yesterday, announcing that at least 11 Umno lawmakers have withdrawn support for Muhyiddin and Perikatan Nasional.

This leaves Muhyiddin’s government on a very slippery slope.

Last minute talks and deals continue to take place, and with a reported audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to come in the next couple of hours, Muhyiddin will have to pull all the stops to remain in power.

But at what cost?

His government will remain weak, without any strong political base and without the ability to win over the people’s sympathy too.

After all, in the past 20 months, this government has failed to effectively control of Covid-19 pandemic as well as doing something solid to put the economy back on track.

All it had been doing was fire-fighting political battles to remain in place, in due course rewarding expired politicians positions in which they have not done anything at all for the good of the nation or its people.

So now, here we are, on a day when Muhyiddin may be forced to step down after losing support among lawmakers.

While his men would try to cobble together a band of new backers to remain in power, what is clear is that this effort could also mean seeing a new man from the same PN pact in place as the prime minister.

At the end of the day, unless Muhyiddin manages to live another day as the prime minister, Malaysia may be resetting itself in the hands of a new leader, all within a three-year span. – August 4, 2021.