FMT:
Unwise to seek Muhyiddin’s ouster now, says Chandra
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Dr Mahathir Mohamad (right) has proposed a motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in the Dewan Rakyat |
PETALING JAYA: Political scientist and social activist Chandra Muzaffar has questioned the wisdom of seeking a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at a time when the nation is fighting the Covid-19 virus.
Speaking to FMT, he said the nation should be focusing on managing the interrelated health and economic crises caused by the epidemic.
He acknowledged that the question of whether Muhyiddin had the support of the lower house was something that needed to be resolved, but said it could wait.
One possible result of the vote is the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of fresh elections.
If that were to happen, Chandra said, the financial cost would be huge.
Speaking to FMT, he said the nation should be focusing on managing the interrelated health and economic crises caused by the epidemic.
He acknowledged that the question of whether Muhyiddin had the support of the lower house was something that needed to be resolved, but said it could wait.
One possible result of the vote is the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of fresh elections.
If that were to happen, Chandra said, the financial cost would be huge.
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Political scientist and social activist Chandra Muzaffar |
“It’s estimated that the process, just for parliamentary seats, would cost RM800 million. Given the economic crisis and all the expenses that have emerged due to the health crisis, can we afford such a huge expenditure?” he asked.
He also spoke of the health risks posed by crowds attending campaign activities, questioning whether political parties and would-be voters could observe social distancing.
If the vote does not result in the dissolution of Parliament, he added, MPs might get engaged in political horse trading to see Pakatan Harapan (PH) retake Putrajaya.
He said this would cause the government’s administration to be dysfunctional and warned of its effect on “good programmes” launched by Putrajaya to aid the people.
“All that will change dramatically because you’ll have a different government.”
Chandra maintained that the Perikatan Nasional government was ethically wrong in the way it came into power.
However, he said, overthrowing it in the midst of a global crisis would bring with it dire consequences.
“This is why I would rather Muhyiddin and his team, including civil servants in critical roles, such as the health director-general, be given all the latitude and support to carry on doing what they’re doing.”
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof has accepted former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proposal for the motion of no-confidence, saying it was in line with Standing Order 27 (3).
However, the motion is unlikely to emerge during the single-day sitting of the Dewan Rakyat on May 18.
According to a standing order of the house, government business takes precedence over private members’ bills and motions and all other matters.
If the PN "government" was indeed doing a good job at combating Covid-19 then there would be a case to argue Chandra's point.
ReplyDeleteBut on the contrary the PN "government" is unethical, incompetent and totally incapable of doing that. Blunder after blunder by the cabinet.
Fortunately the capable MOH saintologists are holding it together for us.
Furthermore the PN tentacles are rapidly spreading to dismantle democracy and reform that we voted for in GE14; power grabbing in process, like the replacement of GLC heads and the rolling back of reforms like the possible dissolution of the 12 parliamentary select committees to be replaced by one super-compliant committee.
The press is also beginning to be muzzled; at the one-day Parliament sitting on May 18 only the official government backed press will be allowed to attend.
Given more time, when GE15 comes around it will be too late. PN would have rolled back the clock to the Bad Old BN days.
By the way the battle against Covid-19 is just one battle. Chandra forgot about the the other battle - the economic tsunami that will befall us soon, when the 260 billion bail out money runs out. Unemployment etc. Do we want an unethical, corrupt, incompetent and back-door government to be in charge of that battle too? Just take the simple case of the hamper food handouts. Rampant corruption and abuse.
Yes holding a GE in this environment is unwise; our only hope is if Muhyiddin really suffers a vote of no confidence the Agong will not dissolve parliament but will instead pick another MP to form a government. And His Majesty should not pick Toonsie because he had resigned earlier.
But Muhyiddin will probably survive the vote because enough MPs have been "incentivised" already ha ha ha...
now only u talk dysfunctional? where were u in the last 3 months? kena lockdown in wuhan like jho low kah?
ReplyDeleteChandrakantha is a lallang who bends whichever way the wind is blowing.
DeleteA totally untrustworthy person, remember how he stabbed Anwar Ibrahim in the back.
"he said the nation should be focusing on managing the interrelated health and economic crises caused by the epidemic"
ReplyDeleteThat is exacy the point that Chandrakantha is being willfully blind to, which makes the Backdoor government unfit to rule, and should be replaced.
The Backdoor government is NOT focusing the entire national effort to fighting the health and economic battle.
A huge chunk of the Backdoor government's attention and effort is maneuvers to neutralise PH , appoint its politicians to lead all government institutons , sideline PH-led state governments, basically politics as usual.
So the excuse that the PN should be allowed to focus on fighting the Virus is Bullshit, because that is not its actual focus.