LETTER | It has been reported widely that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad intends to table a no-confidence motion during the one-day parliamentary session on May 18. Even though it is only a one-day meeting a no-confidence vote can still be carried out if a party or the opposition combined is insistent on this matter. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is in a precarious situation as he only has a simple majority. 

His own party is divided and no one knows how much support he has now although many are of the opinion that he has won praise for handling the Covid-19 pandemic effectively and has provided a RM260 billion stimulus package and his political support has increased, which should defeat any move to remove him.

Bringing down the present government is fraught with risks and will have a lot of repercussions. It was the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong who appointed him during the February political impasse as the king felt that Muhyiddin would be able to shore up support to be the new prime minister. Furthermore, as many have said, this is a Malay-centric government, which reflected the regaining of lost power by the Malay majority. The Malay community felt it had lost its power and privileges under the Pakatan Harapan government. Bringing down the present administration is not going to be taken kindly by the Malay community and one can see their influence and political clout during the various demonstrations, notably against the ratification of Icerd.

The government, if voted out, could herald a political crisis and a period of uncertainty. The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong will likely not call Pakatan Harapan to form a replacement government but will possibly instead accept the prime minister’s recommendation to call for a snap election. A snap election will unfold a lot of problems during the Covid-19 pandemic as the essence of a democratic election such as rallies, campaigning, ceramah and others may not be allowed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

More importantly the people - the electorate - will be highly critical of holding a snap election so soon when socio-economic problems should take precedence. There is going to be mass unemployment and economic losses and the last thing that the people want is a snap election and the large expenditure that is needed for it. The Covid-19 pandemic is going to affect the country in a severe and serious way. The government needs to have the stability to formulate ideas to overcome the host of problems and issues.

The snap election is bound to create a lot of racial and religious tension as Umno, PAS and Bersatu are going to be united and out in full force and strength. Umno and PAS have never been united as they are now and it is going to be a radical change in the peninsula. As for the Pakatan Harapan, the charisma of their leaders and attraction of the parties have faded much in the last two years as hardly any of the promised reforms in the manifesto were implemented, and many are of the opinion that Harapan was no better than the BN they defeated. 

Even the succession issue was botched up resulting in Harapan being thrown out after only 22 months in power. The Mahathir-Anwar combined drawing power has all but dissipated and the DAP, too, has lost its attraction to the Chinese community. There is no more 1MDB to harp on in the next election and Harapan will be hard put to find issues that can excite the voters. Worse still, the Harapan parties might take a serious beating in the next election as attraction towards them has waned a lot.

It is also time to give Dr Mahathir Mohamad a fitting farewell by the government and opposition considering, despite the controversies, the benefits he has given to the country during his two terms in office. He cannot play any major role in Malaysian politics any more as was revealed in February when he lost control of his own game midway and was hoisted by his own petard so to speak. He should retire and there is no better time than now. His son Mukhriz Mahathir’ future as Kedah menteri besar is also in jeopardy for the second time because of listening to his father’s advice.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.