Malaysia's PM Muhyiddin facing mutiny by allies

KUALA LUMPUR - Barely two months after being installed, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's grip on power is eroding, as dissent within his loose Perikatan Nasional (PN) pact continues to fester.

The refusal of most states - even those under PN control - this week to comply with orders to ease curbs aimed at stemming the coronavirus infection comes on the back of his Parti Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia publicly clashing with PN's largest party Umno over appointments in Johor.

Top ruling pact sources told The Straits Times that Tan Sri Muhyiddin's faction in Bersatu, whose chairman Mahathir Mohamad is still aligned to the opposition, is pushing to formalise the PN alliance of 12 parties but is facing resistance from top figures in Umno, whose leadership met on Monday (May 4) to discuss the proposal.

"There is no decision (on a formal agreement). Some prefer to keep it informal, some want to wait-and-see because we still don't know what will happen to Bersatu," an Umno leader who attended the meeting said on condition of anonymity.

This reference to Bersatu leadership polls - where Mr Muhyiddin's presidency is being challenged by Kedah Chief Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, former premier Mahathir's son - that have been postponed indefinitely will mean months of uncertainty over the stability of PN.

These rumblings are stretching ties in the alliance, affording the premier little breathing space as he expends political capital to maintain the razor-thin majority he gained after defecting from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, which collapsed just 21 months after its May 2018 victory.

In the past month, PN allies, especially those from Umno, who were not given ministerial positions have been placed in various state agencies and government-linked firms, with even the most junior MP, Kimanis representative Mohamad Alamin, being made chairman of Malaysia's intellectual property authority.

"Unfortunately, the government needs all PN parliamentarians on its side. Every vote counts," risk consultancy BowerGroupAsia's director Adib Zalkapli told ST.

ST has learnt that as of last week, arrangements for the upcoming parliamentary session on May 18 have accorded PN 113 seats and PH 107, while two are independents.

The one-day sitting in the chamber, where 112 is needed for majority, will hear only the King's Speech this month, with debates and motions postponed to July.

This is despite parliamentary approval still pending for RM35 billion (S$11.5 billion) in spending to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced two months of nationwide restrictions that have obstructed Mr Muhyiddin's government, but also bought the new Malaysian leader time.

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However, since being sworn in on March 1, the premier has been unable to consolidate his position, as initial grumbles over his Cabinet have now grown into public spats over the spoils of victory.

Bersatu has openly lobbied in recent weeks for more political appointments in Mr Muhyiddin's home state of Johor, having surrendered the Menteri Besar position to Umno.

But Umno has responded with threats of dissolving the assembly in its birth state.

"We don't need to prolong this dispute. We can just go for state polls and there may be a domino effect all the way to Parliament. Bersatu has no grassroots and Umno has nothing more to lose after the last election," Umno Johor deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed told ST.

Even the state chapter of PH has smelled blood, and invited Bersatu Johor to return to the fold, a call echoed by Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz at the national level.

Pro-Muhyiddin Bersatu leaders insist all ruling parties stand to benefit if they remain united, as PH lacks pull with the Malay majority.

Supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan told ST: "Umno has long called for Malay unity and PN brings all the Malay parties together, so why break it up?"

But Datuk Jazlan's assertion reflects the difficulty of keeping leaders of three parties representing Malay Muslims in one coalition happy.

This also shows how Umno believes that its combined strength with the Islamist PAS will be sufficient to win the lion's share of seats that have a Malay majority, which is estimated at around 120 out of Parliament's 222.

Umno deputy president Mohamed Hasan echoed a statement by PAS vice-president Nik Amar Nik Abdullah a fortnight ago that support for the Muhyiddin administration was only to topple PH, adding that "Umno's current focus is only to prepare to win the next election with its friends in the National Consensus and Barisan Nasional (BN)".

The National Consensus was an agreement inked with PAS last year to uphold Malay and Islamic interests while BN is the long-standing coalition of largely race-based parties that shared power since independence until its defeat in 2018.

The statement by the former Negri Sembilan chief minister - who has confirmed an ST report that he rejected the government's offer to chair national electricity provider Tenaga Nasional - underlines that of other senior Umno figures, such as president Zahid Hamidi and former premier Najib Razak, who both indicated soon after PN took power that Umno's backing for Mr Muhyiddin would end when polls are held.

Meanwhile, his government's authority has been challenged by 10 out of 13 states - including five of eight controlled by PN - who have refused to fully adopt a relaxed Movement Control Order that was to take effect from Monday.

Mr Muhyiddin's top lieutenant Azmin Ali has borne the brunt of attacks, with Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin alleging that the Senior Minister for the economy's failure to gain the consensus of all states "shows clear weakness in leadership".

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.