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“Instead of loyally upholding the royal decree as required of his capacity as prime minister, Muhyiddin has tried to justify the need for an emergency and appears to have not given up on making a similar request in future,” Lim said in a statement today.
In a special address yesterday, Muhyddin had said declaring an emergency in Batu Sapi, Sabah, and also Sarawak was the only way to stop the coming by-election and state elections there.
Muhyiddin said holding any elections now may cause a fresh outbreak of Covid-19 cases.
Lim questioned this reasoning, saying his supposed intention to postpone the elections to curb the spread of Covid-19 “beggars belief”.
He said many legal experts had disagreed that an emergency was the only way to prevent elections from being held.
Citing constitutional lawyer Andrew Khoo, Lim said many parties viewed the attempt to declare an emergency as Muhyiddin’s proclamation to hold on to power.
“Clearly, Muhyiddin has lost his majority in government with daily threats from Umno to withdraw support from his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
“For this reason, he does not want Parliament to sit, fears a no-confidence motion and that the Budget 2021 may not be passed.
“An emergency is the simplest and easiest remedy to overcome his political problems and weaknesses.”
Lim added that an emergency will have adverse consequences on the economy, investors’ confidence, democracy and national unity.
He said Muhyiddin should instead focus on uniting the people to come together to battle the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The PN government can begin to act responsibly, starting with a Unity Budget 2021 that encompasses all inputs and incorporates policies from outside the government that benefit the ordinary rakyat to save jobs, businesses and their livelihood.”
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