10-23-2020, 08:38 PM
PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has accused the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government of incompetence, which he said was revealed by its widely speculated move for emergency powers to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
Anwar said that while the rest of Asia is looking for ways to manage the pandemic and reopen their economies safely, Malaysia is heading in the opposite direction.
“A state of emergency is declared when there is a threat to our national security. But when the government is itself the source of that threat, then a state of emergency is nothing more than the descent into dictatorship and authoritarianism,” said Anwar.
Anwar said he strongly advised Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin “to consider the legacy of these actions he is taking out of self-interest and selfishness”.
Muhyiddin is currently at Istana Abdulaziz in Pahang for an audience with the King believed to be regarding the use of special emergency powers because of the recent surge in the number of Covid-19 cases to between 700 and 800 new cases daily for the past week.
The prime minister had chaired a special emergency meeting of the Cabinet earlier today before leaving for Kuantan.
A declaration of a state of emergency would allow Muhyiddin to avoid any no-confidence motion in the Dewan Rakyat. He would also be able to avoid tabling the 2021 Budget; if MPs vote against the Budget, the government would automatically fall.
Anwar accused the PN government, which he termed “illegitimate”, of knowing it would fail to demonstrate majority support in Parliament. He said PN is using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to justify its abuse of power.
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Anwar said that while the rest of Asia is looking for ways to manage the pandemic and reopen their economies safely, Malaysia is heading in the opposite direction.
“A state of emergency is declared when there is a threat to our national security. But when the government is itself the source of that threat, then a state of emergency is nothing more than the descent into dictatorship and authoritarianism,” said Anwar.
Anwar said he strongly advised Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin “to consider the legacy of these actions he is taking out of self-interest and selfishness”.
Muhyiddin is currently at Istana Abdulaziz in Pahang for an audience with the King believed to be regarding the use of special emergency powers because of the recent surge in the number of Covid-19 cases to between 700 and 800 new cases daily for the past week.
The prime minister had chaired a special emergency meeting of the Cabinet earlier today before leaving for Kuantan.
A declaration of a state of emergency would allow Muhyiddin to avoid any no-confidence motion in the Dewan Rakyat. He would also be able to avoid tabling the 2021 Budget; if MPs vote against the Budget, the government would automatically fall.
Anwar accused the PN government, which he termed “illegitimate”, of knowing it would fail to demonstrate majority support in Parliament. He said PN is using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to justify its abuse of power.
- Continue reading -