Malaysia Postpones Parliament Session But Opposition Won't Play Ball

The government called off the final session of the House of Representatives' special sitting slated for today and the Senate's special sitting scheduled for later this week. The decision was formally justified by data from the Health Ministry, pointing to a heightened risk of Covid-19 infections in parliament buildings. The postponement of the session has allowed PM Muhyiddin to avoid an imminent challenge to his power, after last week saw opposition leader Anwar table a motion for a vote of no confidence.

• As a reminder, the opposition demanded Muhyiddin's resignation last Thursday, as Malaysia's King publicly reprimanded the government for misleading lawmakers and undermining royal authority. Friday session was then pushed back to Monday, officially on the grounds of detecting two Covid-19 cases among parliamentary staff, before being put on hold for at least two weeks.
• The decision to shut down parliament again angered the opposition, with several lawmakers threatening to turn up at the Lower House this morning. The Presidential Council of the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition said in a statement that their 88 MPs would show up. Several hundred protesters took it to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, urging Muhyiddin to resign.
• Deputy PM Ismail Sabri on Sunday brushed away speculation that he could become interim PM and confirmed the authenticity of a letter by 40 lawmakers from the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional alliance, in which they expressed support for PM Muhyiddin. The document was initially discredited by Barisan Executive Secretary amid continued factional conflict within UMNO over support for Muhyiddin's government.
• While Ismail Sabri insisted that the decision was driven solely by health concerns, the government is facing accusations from many quarters of avoiding parliamentary scrutiny. It is unclear if Muhyiddin is still backed by most lawmakers, as he previously relied on a razor-thin majority.
• One local political analyst told FMT that Muhyiddin could still try to save his face by shifting the blame onto his de-facto Law Minister Takiyuddin, whose surprise statement on revoking ordinances enacted during the state of emergency led to an imminent rebuke from the Royal Palace last Thursday and started the current political storm.