KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today again called for the Perikatan Nasional government to reconvene Parliament, reassuring Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that its MPs will not support a no-confidence motion against the latter.
The Bagan MP also said the record number of 6,806 Covid-19 new cases and 59 deaths announced yesterday was clear proof of the failure of the government to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.
“To placate the chronic political insecurity of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, should Parliament be convened immediately, DAP guarantees that our 42 MPs will not support any no-confidence motion against him but will only discuss about Covid-19 prevention measures, National Immunisation Programme and related matters,” he said in a statement today.
“Such a shameful performance (of rising Covid-19 cases and deaths) should wake up the slumbering PN administration that they must adopt not just a whole of government approach but also a whole of people approach to prevail in the desperate battle against Covid-19,” he added.
Lim also said that the PN government must explain why the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic fallout has taken a turn for the worse despite billions of ringgit in funds injected to help the situation.
He added that the PN government’s approach to the situation was not up to par with that of Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar — who yesterday called for a meeting between all Johor MPs and state assemblymen to discuss Covid-19 management in the state, despite there being an Emergency in place.
Parliament has not been convened since December last year, after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah declared a nationwide state of Emergency — which has suspended Parliament at least until the Emergency ends on August 1.
However, Muhyiddin’s many political opponents have accused the prime minister of using the Emergency to cling onto power as he fears not having the majority support among MPs required to maintain his position.
