All eyes on Malaysian PM Muhyiddin’s political future ahead of royal audience
In this Aug 4, 2021, photo, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin waves from a car while entering the National Palace to meet the king in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AP Photo/FL Wong)
KUALA LUMPUR: All eyes are on Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as he is expected to make an announcement on his political future, after meeting with King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on Monday (Aug 16).
When leaving his residence in Bukit Damansara at 7.42am, Mr Muhyiddin was seen waving at the media personnel who had been around the area since early morning, reported Bernama.
He then arrived at the Perdana Putra building, Putrajaya at 8.07am to attend a Cabinet meeting.
The Star reported that he has an audience scheduled for 11.30am with the king, where he is expected to formally announce his resignation as prime minister to the ruler.
Early this month, a number of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) lawmakers, led by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, withdrew their support for Mr Muhyiddin, compromising his already razor-thin parliamentary majority.
The prime minister initially insisted that he still commanded the parliamentary majority, and promised to prove his legitimacy through a motion of confidence scheduled to be tabled in the parliament on Sep 7.
Last Friday, Mr Muhyiddin appeared in a televised address to seek bipartisan support to survive the confidence motion.
However, his proposal was rejected by Pakatan Harapan, which said that this was essentially an open admission that he had lost the support of the majority of the Lower House. The opposition bloc called for him to step down.
UMNO, too, said it would not consider offers from "a person who no longer has legitimacy", adding that his offer could be characterised as an "open bribery".
On Sunday, Malaysian media quoted Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof as saying that the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leaders met on Sunday to discuss the scenario should Mr Muhyiddin step down.
“We just finished the meeting. Tomorrow, there will be a special Cabinet meeting. After that, he will head to Istana Negara to submit his resignation,” he said.
