Showdown has been set on May 18
The parliamentary session was set to convene on May 18 to debate and table bills, after being postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
However, it would be a one-day only parliamentary session. It angered several politicians from the oppositions, questioning the legitimacy of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
On May 8, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff announced that he had accepted the motion of no-confidence proposed by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Back in February, during the 2020 Malaysian political crisis back, it was reported that the PN government was formed with the support of 114 parliamentary members (MPs).
The MPs were from PPBM, Barisan Nasional, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS). However, not all MPs from PPBM supported the PN government.
They are from Mahathir’s bloc in the party with notable politicians like the former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq and former Education Minister, Dr Maszlee Malik.
On the contrary, Mahathir published a list of 115 MPs who were reported to support him instead of the current Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Later, some of the MPs in the list denied their allegiance towards the former Prime Minister.
Recently, the PPBM deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir came forth and urged Muhyiddin to steer PPBM back to Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the sake of the party’s sustainability.
The Kedah Menteri Besar explained that PPBM and UMNO would be aiming for the same seat in GE-15, eventually competing with one another.
In addition, UMNO has two coalitions behind its back, Barisan Nasional with MCA and MIC, and Muafakat Nasional with PAS. Meanwhile, PPBM would be alone.
On the other hand, UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had made it clear that PN is not an official coalition, instead a ‘working agreement’ to resolve the political crisis.
It is a major hint that PN would probably part ways before GE-15. Furthermore, Mohamad Hasan declined the chairmanship of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), avoiding political appointment so that he would not be “in debt” with PN in the future.
As the future of PPBM is at risk, its MPs might reconsider their allegiance. With only four MPs switching sides, Muhyiddin would then be voted out from his premiership through the no-confidence motion.
