The government’s failure in its motion to extend the detention period under Section 4 (5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in Parliament yesterday has come as a shock and is an indication that Umno-BN must immediately free itself from the “shackles of a weak cooperation”, said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid said that if we refer to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government and Pakatan Harapan, Article 3 clearly states that the opposition must agree, or abstain, in any motion brought by the government.

"It was one of the steps taken to...