KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin could be made to wait up to year before he can try to secure a personal mandate, according to sources who said the prime minister was advised that the current Covid-19 wave could take as long to subside.
According to a report in The Straits Times, this meant Muhyiddin and his Perikatan Nasional would have to keep contending with the political instability that has existed since they control of the government in March.
It quoted sources as saying that Malaysian health authorities briefed Muhyiddin that it will take almost a year to contain the infections from the third wave, with a record high of 1,755 new cases recorded on Friday.
“The prime minister still wants to go for polls as he said during the Sabah state election campaign.
“But in the National Security Council, he was advised to invoke a state of emergency to avoid any election as data indicated that the third wave could last until October 2021,” said one of the sources.
Muhyiddin’s party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, had appeared to receive a major fillip after leading the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition to victory in the Sabah state election.
The PM said then that he would call an early general election if GRS was victorious. However, the third Covid-19 wave hit Malaysia shortly after.
He then tried unsuccessfully to convince the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to make a proclamation of emergency last month.
This would have allowed the government to suspend Parliament as well as impending polls such as the Batu Sapi by-election in Sabah on December 5 and the Sarawak state election that must be held next year.
The ST said Muhyiddin would consequently remain vulnerable to demands from Umno, which is nominally allied with Bersatu but has increasingly treated it as a rival.
As the 14th general election was held in 2018, another need not be held until 2023.
