Malaysia has declared a national state of emergency, a momentous step ostensibly prompted by the spiralling Covid-19 situation in Malaysia.
Parliament sittings will be suspended and the federal government will be granted additional powers to tackle the health crisis.
However, the timing of the announcement brought about some skepticism. Was the emergency declared solely for health reasons, or were political factors also a consideration?
Reaction of other leaders
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak said that the existing Movement Control Order and the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease 1988 Act are strong measures for the government to tackle the pandemic.
"What other measures were lacking in fighting the pandemic during the MCO?" he asked.
Another former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, also said that the government has sufficient powers to deal with the crisis.
He also commented that Malaysians have been largely law-abiding and followed the government's previous orders to curb their movements.
Emergency grants enhanced powers to deal with Covid-19
However, James Chin, an expert on Malaysian politics, has a slightly different view.
Chin is the Director of the Asia Institute in the University of Tasmania and a former Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS). He has been cited in major news networks such as the BBC, CNBC and Bloomberg.
Speaking to Mothership, Chin opined that the Muhyiddin government may have practical reasons for declaring the national emergency, which confers enhanced powers on the federal government.
"It may be that with enhanced powers, it will be much easier for them to deal with the Covid-19 because they don't have to keep issuing the MCO for the next six months."
Chin said that there has been an "explosion" in Covid-19 cases, not just in Malaysia but also Europe and South America. Other governments, such as Spain, have also declared national emergencies.
Added political benefits
However, Chin does point out that the pandemic aside, the emergency does "coincide" with the fact that for the next six months, Muhyiddin is immune to direct challenges to his power.
This was made apparent with the announcement of two UMNO members, Nazri Aziz and Ahmad Yaakub, that they would be withdrawing their support for Muhyiddin's government.
Nazri, who is a former cabinet minister, said that with the withdrawals, Muhyiddin only had the support of 109 Members of Parliament.
This meant that technically, Muhyiddin had lost his majority.
Muhyiddin can only be asked by the king to step down
Nazri also said that UMNO had decided against continuing to work with Muhyiddin's Bersatu party, and the decision will be formalised by the end of the month.
"In some ways, Covid-19 has saved Muhyiddin's Prime Ministership for the next six months," Chin observed.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of PKR was more explicit, accusing the government of "clinging on to power" and saying that he will challenge the emergency declaration in court, according to Free Malaysia Today.
However, Chin said that even if more MPs declared they were withdrawing their support, Muhyiddin won't need to resign as long as the emergency lasts.
Only the king can ask Muhyiddin to stop down, and Chin believes the king will not do so, as the establishment wants a "calm" period for the authorities to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, believes the move is political in nature.
Speaking to ABC News, he said:
"It's very clearly a political move from the Muhyiddin side to preempt political challenges from both his rivals in his ruling coalition as well as the opposition."
What about a general election?
Muhyiddin has pledged to hold a general election after the crisis passes, the emergency ends and it is "safe" to hold polls.
And he has sought to convene a bipartisan committee that also includes independent experts and opposition MPs to determine if the emergency could be ended sooner.
However, Chin believes that Muhyiddin would not rush to call a general election. He said:
"Even with the lifting of the emergency in August, it's unlikely Muhyiddin will call for a GE because he knows that Bersatu is not strong in the Malay areas. So he will try to delay as much as possible."
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