Second Time's the Charm: Malaysia and the State of Emergency

Compiled by Poltracker

Just 13 days into 2021, the country’s political climate remains turbulent with removal and growing calls for a snap poll from Umno despite the raging Covid-19 pandemic. 

To make things even more interesting, a state of Emergency on 12 January to combat the pandemic. This has resulted in the suspension of Parliament and state assemblies. It will keep things on simmer for now and put an end to any talks of an immediate general election.

Umno delivered a surprise on 5 January when Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa was removed as secretary-general for Barisan Nasional (BN). Annuar’s ‘crime’ was alleged to be the voice of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in BN.

Days after the removal, Annuar had slammed those in his party for calling for a snap election amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Urging for elections when the people and the country are struggling with Covid-19, floods, the economy, clearly reflects not only the irresponsibility, but also the hunger for power and the lack of sensitivity to the people’s suffering. That is not the will of the grassroots,” said the Ketereh MP in his Twitter account.

His comment echoed Umno minister and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin who said any section of Malaysia seeking a general election alongside the Covid-19 pandemic was “selfish” and “irresponsible”, and acknowledged that the group included those from his party.

Umno has been pushing for snap poll for the past few months in both subtle and not so subtle manner. In October last year, it had threatened to pull out of the PN coalition and more recently Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said elections could be held with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in place.

"Why are we afraid of holding a general election during the pandemic? More than 30 countries have already done so… Why is Malaysia is so afraid? I think that we're not really scared of Covid-19 but of other things," he said in his opening speech at the Bagan Datuk Umno division meeting on 3 January.

While Annuar has remained supportive of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, his fellow MPs Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz of Padang Rengas and Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakob have withdrawn their support. 

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's government is now left with 109 MPs on its bloc out the current 220 MPs. The Dewan Rakyat is comprised of 222 seats but is currently down to 220 following the deaths of Batu Sapi MP Datuk Liew Vui Keong and Gerik MP Datuk Hasbullah Osman last year.

At 109, the PN government does not have the simple majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.

Umno was scheduled to discuss its ties with Bersatu at its General Assembly at the end of this month but that will put on hold as Kuala Lumpur has been put on MCO until 26 January with probable extension due to the rising number of positive Covid-19 cases.

It is obvious that UMNO is the key component to keeping Muhyiddin’s coalition alive. PN’s government’s legitimacy has been questioned since the Sheraton move last February. More withdrawal of support from UMNO’s MPs will make the government untenable, Emergency or not.

The only thing that remains in Muhyiddin’s favour is the challenge for the opposing MPs to hammer a coalition to form a government until such time it is safe to go to the polls.

By Sharon TAN, KHOR Yu Leng, and the PolTracker team, 18 Jan 2021

Editor’s note on the data chart:

• Following the Emergency announcement, the government regulatory body, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), warned netizens to “be polite and courteous” [jaga kesopanan dan kesusilaan: this seems to be taken straight from the Rukun Negara (Malay for the Malaysian declaration of national philosophy), which is generally recited weekly by school students] when expressing opinions online. This carefully worded warning somehow led to Twitter users exposing MCMC past off-colour Tweets, which turned out to be from a previous user from whom they bought their account in an apparent violation of Twitter’s terms and conditions.

• Twitter sentiments on the YDPA appear caught up in problems that users are highlighting for the YDPA’s attention, e.g. complaints about politicians, suggestions to cut their salaries. This means Tweets tagged as a negative sentiment are not actually about the YDPA; it is the issues netizens are urging him to address which are negative. In general, sentiments towards the YDPA are much more favourable compared to sentiments on politicians.

911, What's Your Emergency: Emergency Talk Sends Malaysia Abuzz (Again)

Emergency was the buzz word last week. Word spread that the ruling government sought emergency rule to break the spread of COVID-19 as the numbers continue to rise and to avert political instability. Last Friday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had an audience with the Yang Dipertuan Agung (YDPA; the King) where he requested that he declare a state of emergency.

Political leaders from both sides of the fence questioned the need for such drastic measure. There was concern this would bring more harm to the ailing economy. Why not use other laws to impose strict movement control without resorting to emergency rule? Critics accused PM Muhyiddin of using it as a pretext to suspend Parliament; and to avoid vote of no confidence on Budget 2021, due to be tabled on 6 November. Muhyiddin holds a razor-thin majority in the Parliament while opposition had plans to vote against the supply bill. By declaring a state of emergency, Muhyiddin would wield power, without answering to Parliament.

The YDPA convened a Malay Rulers meeting on Sunday and came to a decision that there wasn’t a need for emergency rule. The King also called for an end to any politicking that could destabilise the government. He commended the government for handling the pandemic well and stressed that the Budget should be presented before Parliament as scheduled.

Our review of Twitter mentions shows a chorus of gratitude from netizens. #DaulatTuanku exploded on social media over the King’s decision to avert emergency rule. Interestingly, Muhyiddin did not get as much flack over social media, as his other senior ministers - Azmin Ali and Hamzan Zainuddin. But, the sentiment about the sitting PM could have been mitigated by reporting in a more positive tone by the media. Hamzah, who is said to be Muhyiddin’s operative, does not have much presence on social media, and was spared the brickbats.  

Sentiment for senior minister Azmin Ali was most in the negative as he had accused Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of creating instability and sowing hatred amid the nation's battle against the pandemic. He also said that criticisms by opposition leaders about the nation descending into dictatorship if a state of "economic emergency" is declared is "an act of utter recklessness and irresponsibility most unbecoming of MPs". Azmin who has an active presence on social media was also seen as one of the architects for emergency rule. He also had a pivotal role in the ‘Sheraton move’ which toppled the 22 months Pakatan Harapan government. Public opinion on Azmin is heated. A skeptic commented that “[t]he word unite has become a vulgar word used by losers without an argument. The intention is to shut you up!” in reply to Azmin’s attempt to deliver a message of unity.

Another observer said, a unity government would be ideal until the situation is safe to head to the polls; especially if political parties from both sides of the aisle are not able to set their differences aside.

Muhyiddin is expected to hold his position for now. The storm, however, is far from over for PM8.

By KHOR Yu Leng, Sharon TAN, and the PolTracker team, 28 Oct 2020

From LinkedIn posting

#Malaysia #politicaleconomy. Unprecedented. Rulers reject Prime Minister's Emergency rule proposal. In #socialmedia check out netizens use of  #muhyiddinout #protesdarurat #daruratpolitik (political emergency) and Daulat Tuanku (long live the King). The arrival of cabinet members to the PM's home late last night to restrategize... captured in a tiktok vid (9:04 PM · Oct 25, 2020; with audio track that tickled audiences) https://lnkd.in/gtDT5tc

Bloomberg LP writes:  Emergency rule would include suspending parliament, the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, a move critics have decried as an attempt by the premier to stay in power amid a leadership challenge... Several political leaders from the opposition and even the ruling coalition have come out against the proposed emergency, saying there was no justification for it except to prevent the collapse of the government. https://lnkd.in/gm5Fwx5

Prepare for Trouble, Make it Double: Anger in Malaysia after Double Standards by Government

In the past two weeks, Malaysians have taken to the social media to vent their frustrations over the handling of the surge of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who had built his legitimacy on his swift tackling of the COVID-19 earlier this year saw his popular streak came to a grinding halt. Public sentiment turned against him in what they perceived as double-standard when his cabinet members were not subjected to quarantine upon returning from campaigning from Sabah. The government had only imposed quarantine for those returning from Sabah on September 27, a day after the state election.

Anger towards Muhyiddin swelled when in his latest address to the nation, he threatened to ‘rotan’ or cane those who has flouted the SOPs. Hashtags such as #muhyiddinout calling for his ouster, #klustermenteri and #doublestandard gained traction on social media as people voiced their anger towards him. Many felt that he should have ‘caned’ his own cabinet members who have not adhered to the SOPs instead of threatening the public. This came after the minister at the prime minister’s department in charge of Religious Affairs was found to have COVID-19. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri who had campaigned in Sabah which was a red zone, failed to self-quarantine, instead went on to travel to several other states on official visits. As a result of this, several cabinet members including Muhyiddin were subjected to 14 days quarantine as they had been in the same meeting with Zulkifli.

Maaflah jika abah ini mula menggunakan rotan sekarang. [Sorry that this ‘abah’ is using the cane now.]

Muhyiddin and the government were severely criticised when he was found to not have been issued a pink tag for which is the standard issue for those under quarantine. The Health Ministry came out in defence that Muhyiddin was tested frequently and was found to be negative on all occasions. However, that explanation did nothing to turn the tides.

Last week as the infection numbers surged throughout the country, schools have seen a drop in attendance. Several schools in the Klang Valley were also affected where pupils were confirmed to be positive. In the case of SK Bangsar which had two cases, authorities did not shut down the school despite appeals from parents. The parents then took matters to hand when they collectively did not send their children to attend classes the next day resulting in 0% attendance. This forced the Education Ministry to close the school for a week for purposes of cleaning and sanitation which is the standard practice for premises which have confirmed cases. This move by parents is another outraged against the government’s attitude in tackling the health crisis.

At this time of writing, the government has imposed conditional movement control order (CMCO) from October 14 to 27 on Selangor, Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (Sabah has also been put under CMCO for 14 days beginning Oct 13) as an effort to stem the spread of the virus.

In the midst of this public anger and political instability, MP Syed Saddiq, who has since established his Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), has launched the PauseMalaysia campaign (#PauseMalaysia), urging all politicians and political parties to stop their alleged tussle for powers and focus on safeguarding Malaysians from the Covid-19 pandemic

Citing Malaysians as being tired of the power play, the campaign called for ceasefire among all political parties arguing that the people are the ones who suffer as a result of the current spate of power grabbing. Pause Malaysia also asked that there should be no general election as long as the COVID-19 virus continues to spread. Its final request was for the government Opposition and Independent politicians to come together, find a way to cooperate and make the people’s welfare their top priority.

This call for political ceasefire is not unique to MUDA. In August, DAP’s MP Anthony Loke asked for a ceasefire which fell to deaf ears. #PauseMalaysia has yet to gain much traction outside the Twitter sphere. A poll ran by BFM, a local radio station, saw 60% of listeners disagreeing with the campaign while Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the University of Nottingham’s Asia Research Institute said that the campaign was mis-named as reality of COVID-19, patronage and politicking will go on. “Some parties already preparing for elections/by-elections. Muda could be seen ironically campaigning through this initiative. 'Pausing' empowers those in power w/o solutions to problems,” said Welsh.

By KHOR Yu Leng, Sharon TAN, and Khor Reports’ PolTracker, 15 Oct 2020