KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s move to propose for an emergency declaration is clear evidence that he has lost his majority in Parliament, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today.

The former finance minister claimed that the prime minister does not have confidence in winning the Budget 2021 vote in Parliament. 

“Clearly Tan Sri Muhyiddin has lost his majority in Parliament and he has no confidence in winning the Budget vote in the next sitting. 

“Even Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa has admitted that the exercise of emergency powers is to avoid elections, indirectly conceding the ‘grand design’ to protect the positions of those in power,” Lim said in a statement.

He was commenting on yesterday’s speculation that the prime minister is considering declaring a state of emergency to address the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. 

“If Muhyiddin is serious in wanting to overcome the Covid-19 health crisis, he should resign for his ineptitude in not imposing a full home quarantine on those returning from Sabah following the Sabah state election. 

“Instead he and Perikatan Nasional (PN) chose to subvert parliamentary democracy by seeking an emergency proclamation to sacrifice the rakyat and the national economy to save himself and retain power at any cost,” said Lim. 

He added that even the medical professionals have stated that the current measures such as the conditional movement control order are sufficient to contain the virus and helps minimise the adverse impact on the economic livelihood of the rakyat.

“This (emergency proposal) has clearly nothing to do with Covid-19 when reports from MCA-controlled (news agency) The Star openly admitted that the emergency proclamation was to avoid Budget 2021 from being defeated and put a pause on ‘political activities’,” he said.

The English daily reported yesterday that the 2021 Budget would be presented to the cabinet, and can be approved without voting from all 222 MPs, since Parliament will no longer be in effect in an emergency. 

It also wrote that the impact of an emergency will concentrate powers in the prime minister at the expense of Parliament, severely damage the economy and cause tremendous loss of confidence.

“The King is the rakyat’s last hope to prevent an ill-conceived emergency proclamation by the prime minister to save himself at the expense of parliamentary democracy, the national economy and the rakyat. 

“Malaysians will appeal and pray for a decision where the voice of the ordinary people can be heard,” he said. 

Yesterday, Muhyiddin and several other government leaders attended an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the latter’s Istana Abdulaziz in Kuantan.

Speculation had been rife that the Perikatan Nasional government is seeking to declare a state of emergency as Malaysia struggles to contain the spike in Covid-19 infection that has also hurt the economy.

Istana Negara issued a statement earlier today that Yang di-Pertuan Agong will discuss with the other Malay rulers on the suggestions he received from the Cabinet yesterday.

Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the King has advised the public to remain calm, not to panic and be patient while awaiting a decision on the proposal made by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.