Khabar-bicara gembar-gembur sangat aktif antara individu, sosmed dan berasaskan tulisan-tulisan portal memberikan tanda bahawa Kerajaan bawah Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin akan mengadap DYMM SPB YDP Agong XVI dan memohon perkenan perishtiharan darurat, akibat keadaan Covid-19 yang semakin teruk.
The Vibes:
If an emergency is declared, Malaysia would be first country in the world to do so in light of Covid-19 – even though Health Ministry is doing a fine job
Updated 1 second ago · Published on 23 Oct 2020 4:38PM ·
FOR sure, Covid-19 and preventing or restricting its spread is not cause for imposing the emergency. The movement control orders of the past and the targeted enhanced movement control orders did wonders to bring down the rate of spread of the infection.
For sure, even if there is a vote of confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s backdoor government, there is no reason to impose an emergency – it means the democratic process is working. It would simply mean Muhyiddin submits his resignation.
For sure, then the King decides whether to appoint a new PM who enjoys the confidence of the house or to have fresh elections. With the speaker putting all motions of no confidence on the back-burner, that won’t happen.
For sure, even if the forthcoming budget to be tabled on November 6 is not passed, it again means democracy is working as it is meant to be. It merely indicates that Muhyiddin does not enjoy the confidence of the house and should resign.
For sure, the King, in his wisdom and after he marshals all the facts, decides whether to appoint a new PM who enjoys the confidence of the house or to call for fresh elections.
For sure, the calling of fresh elections does not in itself lead to a situation which calls for the declaration of an emergency. There are sixty days before elections, which is a long enough time for the Health Ministry to impose measures that would result in elections which are safe.
For sure, you can have social distancing, or perhaps even Internet or electronic polls. If we can make millions of money transactions a day on the Internet safely surely a failsafe method for Internet polls can be implemented.
For sure, we can bar physical rallies – there is the Internet, Facebook, live streaming, YouTube, et cetera for campaigning which can be continuous but socially distanced. This may even reduce the potential for vote-buying. Covid-19 can be kept at bay even if there are elections.
For sure, the King ultimately decides on the proclamation of an emergency even though he may be advised by the PM, but he has an obligation to exercise that rationally. The two sections giving him the powers under the Constitution are:
150. (1) If the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect.
(2) A Proclamation of Emergency under Clause (1) may be issued before the actual occurrence of the event which threatens the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is satisfied that there is imminent danger of the occurrence of such event.
For sure, despite the clauses above, it will be highly irresponsible if the PM advises the King to declare emergency as a means to continue to stay in power to prevent the legitimate transition to power if and when he has lost the confidence of the majority in Parliament.
For sure, if an emergency is declared, we will gain recognition of the wrong kind – the first country in the world to declare an emergency because, ostensibly, it could not deal with the Covid-19 threat without it. That would be a patent lie because the Health Ministry was a doing fine job, except for that anomaly in the Sabah election due to political reasons.
For sure, the uncertainty that an emergency will cause will result in the evaporation of investor confidence, both locally and internationally, and a huge drop in confidence of the populace in the current government and the country. That will be disastrous.
Right now there seems to be only one reason to impose an emergency – to keep the backdoor government in power. That’s absolutely the wrong reason for imposing emergency.
The last thing we need right now is an emergency, especially one that is created by the political masters.
P Gunasegaram says that backdoor governments are bad – and dangerous. He is an editorial consultant for The Vibes.
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Perkembangan pandemik Covid-19 di Malaysia belum tahap meruncing. Walaupun kes kes positif harian lebih 800, namun jumlah keseluruhan kes positif ialah pada 8,200.
Setakat ini 65% kes positif jangkitan Covid-19 pulih dan jumlah kematian ialah 0.86%. Maknanya, setiap 10,000 mereka yang dijangkit, hanya 86 sahaja yang berakhir dengan kematian.
Keadaan politik sepatutnya lebih berpihak kepada Perdana Menteri Muhyiddin, terutama selepas pengumuman Presiden UMNO Dato Sri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dimana ‘gencatan politik’ unilateral akan diambil oleh UMNO.
Ini juga ditambah apabila Presiden Zahid sebagai Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa ahli Kabinet Perdana Menteri Muhyiddin iaitu Menteri Luar Negara Dato Sri Hishammuddin Hussein dilantik sebagai Bendahari BN.
Perkembangan ini semua membantu meringankan tekanan politik ke atas Perdana Menteri Muhyiddin agar boleh terus tumpuan mentadbir dan menguruskan Kerajaan.
Apakah Perdana Menteri Muhyiddin tiada ikhtiar lain untuk terus memegang tampuk kuasa dan mentadbir dan mengurus Kerajaan dan Negara, tanpa menggunakan Darurat?
Strategic Ceasefire
A handful of UMNO Leaders and grassroot members are unhappy with President Dato’ Sri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s unilateral announcement of ‘Ceasefire’ on 21 October 2020 being seen as weak and pandering further into being ‘bullied’ by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin.
However it is quite the opposite as the ‘Ceasefire’ provided more room and opportunity for President Zahid to manoeuvre and move his lot around, which would make Prime Minister Muhyiddin and PPBM subservient to UMNO.
The Vibes story:
Is ‘Abah’ afraid of a budget defeat?
Analysts argue that chances of cancelling the 2021 federal allocation bill are very slim
Updated 2 hours ago · Published on 23 Oct 2020 6:51AM · 0 CommentsFacebookTwitterEmailWhatsAppWeChatPrint
BY
Emmanuel Samarathisa
KUALA LUMPUR – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s call for a special cabinet meeting today comes at a time when the scuttlebutt is rife with talk of political change and intrigue.
People familiar with the matter, however, say that the prime minister is expected to discuss a litany of issues with regard to support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, and with measures related to the coronavirus pandemic being high up on the agenda.
This is because Muhyiddin – who refers to himself as “Abah” or father in Malay – is expected to face a serious test of leadership when the Dewan Rakyat tables Budget 2021 on November 6, a source said.
Unlike previous prime ministers, Muhyiddin leads by a razor-thin majority in Parliament (112 to 114 of 222 seats – although Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim now claims to command a 121-seat majority).
Failing to get his budget approved is tantamount to a no-confidence vote, and therefore a collapse in government.
Malaysia watcher James Chin believes Umno will be the basis of Muhyiddin’s ability to get next year’s federal allocation passed. If the Barisan Nasional (BN) keystone backs the prime minister, “the chances of having his budget defeated are very slim”, he said.
Also, such defeat has “never happened before in Malaysia”, added Chin, director of the Asia Institute, University of Tasmania.
“What a lot of people don’t realise is that you can still make very last-minute changes to the budget within the first and third readings. So if Muhyiddin thinks he is going to lose, he is going to add in a few items to please Umno. So chances of him being defeated are very, very slim.”
Successive governments have come close to having allocations cancelled albeit at the ministry-level.
BN was almost defeated by one vote after it debated the 2018 allocation for the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, while Pakatan Harapan (PH) was only able to push through this year’s allocation for the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry by four votes.
Political observers are not the only ones who believe Muhyiddin has a fighting chance. Capital market participants also argue that they have not priced in such a defeat.
“Investors assume Umno will back the budget bill,” said a fund manager. Should Muhyiddin lose in the august house, the fund manager added, “Malaysia can expect another degree of uncertainty.”
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Azmil Mohd Tayeb said: “The implication is clear if the budget bill is defeated.”
Muhyiddin’s government, the political scientist added, no longer commanded the majority.
“He should step down and let the Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoint the one who has the majority as per the constitutional convention.” – The Vibes, October 23, 2020
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On 14 October 2020 after the UMNO Political Bureau meeting, Presiden Zahid announced they “might consider to pull out from the Perikatan Nasional Government and would put forth a set of new terms”, which is the flimsy platform that put Prime Minister Muhyiddin in power.
That shook the ground, already swelling for the UMNO grassroots unhappy feelings of PPBM ‘bullying’ UMNO around after the latter lends the biggest chunk of power when enabled PPBM President Muhyiddin to be sworn in as Prime Minister VIII on 29 Feb 2020.
In reciprocity, PPBM Secretary General and Home Minister Dato’ Sri Hamzah Zainuddin arrogantly asked UMNO to submit in writing their grievances and demands.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin has exactly two weeks left to get his party Whip cracking and consolidate the support towards him or otherwise the Bill for Budget 2021expected to be tabled on 6 November 2020 would not be passed by the Dewan Rakyat.
This is the worst scenario of the ongoing political impasse this Pakatan Harapan has been trying to get Prime Minister VII Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to retire and handover to then heir-apparent Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim, since December 2019.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir summarily resigned on 24 Feb 2020 and the void created an impasse where UMNO enbloc decided to nominate PPBM President Muhyiddin as the Prime Minister.
It was a proposal accepted by His Majesty SPB YDP Agong XVI and Muhyiddin was sworn in as the Prime Minister VIII on 29 Feb 2020.
If the Bajet 2021 Bill is not passed by Dewan Rakyat, it would lead to the shutdown of the Federal Government comes 1 Jan 2021, amidst the the growing global Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
The Ceasefire announces by President Zahid is allow more room and opportunity for UMNO to play a more strategic and probably a senior part role in the current Federal Government, until the people goes back to the polls.