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Selasa, 13 Oktober 2020

UMNO mulls withdrawing support for Perikatan Nasional, will set new terms for cooperation with ruling coalition - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO is mulling the idea of withdrawing its support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) and will set new terms in writing to continue its political cooperation with the ruling coalition.

UMNO secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said the matter was agreed unanimously at the party’s Supreme Council’s Political Bureau meeting, which ended late Tuesday night (Oct 13).

He added that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will be notified of the party’s decision and new terms on Wednesday.

“All state UMNO liaison body chairmen and Supreme Council members, including those undergoing quarantine, agree with the decision,” he told reporters at the lobby of the UMNO headquarters after the meeting.

UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is scheduled to have an audience with King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at 5pm on Thursday, the secretary-general added.

READ: Malaysia king to study documents and consult party leaders, says Anwar amid bid to form new government

The five-hour dual-session meeting chaired by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was attended by his deputy Mohamad Hassan and all party wing leaders.

Ahmad Maslan said the meeting also suggested to the Muafakat Nasional (MN) steering committee that MN be immediately registered as a legitimate political coalition.

He stressed that UMNO viewed political stability as being very important and economic growth must be enhanced.

READ: Leave it to the best judgment of the king, says PM Muhyiddin on Anwar’s bid to seize power

When asked if UMNO would pull out immediately from PN if the coalition refuses to accept the new terms, Ahmad Maslan said further discussions would be held.

He said the decision was made based on the political situation in the country, after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had an audience with the king on Tuesday.

Anwar Ibrahim claimed he has the support of more than 120 members of Parliament, adding that that the king would be calling on party heads for input and to confirm the documents submitted by the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president.

Istana Negara said on Tuesday that Anwar Ibrahim did not produce a list of names of those backing him during a royal audience.

READ: Anwar did not present list of MPs backing him: Istana Negara

In a statement, Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the meeting between the king and Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday lasted for about 25 mins.

“In this meeting, Mr Anwar had presented the number of Members of Parliament who he claims are in support of him. However, he did not present a list of names of these parliamentarians to back his claims.

“In relation to that, the king had advised Mr Anwar to obey and respect the due process of law as per the Federal Constitution,” the comptroller said.

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2020-10-13 23:02:29Z
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Umno mulls over pulling out of Malaysia's ruling alliance PN unless it gets new terms - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s largest ruling party Umno threatened on Tuesday (Oct 13) to pull out of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government, just hours after Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed a parliamentary majority.

Should Umno, which ruled Malaysia since independence up to its shock defeat in 2018, carry out its threat, it would collapse the Muhyiddin administration which was only sworn in in March.

Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan said late on Tuesday that the party’s top leadership was mulling a withdrawal from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government following a meeting chaired by president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, speculated to be among those supporting Datuk Seri Anwar’s bid to topple Tan Sri Muhyiddin.

“Umno is considering withdrawing support for PN and will present new conditions... to continue the political cooperation via a written agreement to be executed as soon as possible,” said Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

He added that Umno will push for Muafakat Nasional (MN), a pro-Malay Muslim pact it spearheads along with Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), to be registered as a formal political alliance.

Umno and Mr Muhyiddin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia have been at loggerheads for months over primacy in the ruling pact.

Tensions boiled most recently after Bersatu gained the chief ministership of Sabah following the Sept 26 state polls, with senior figures in Umno questioning the wisdom of their cooperation with Bersatu.

PN in its registered form is led by Bersatu president Mr Muhyiddin, but Umno has resisted joining the official coalition amid heated negotiations over seats ahead of the general election expected within months.

The president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Mr Anwar, has insisted that he has support of over 120 MPs in the 222-strong Parliament after an audience with the King early on Tuesday.

It is understood that potential defectors from the Muhyiddin administration - which had just 113 MPs - were largely from Umno including those loyal to its president Zahid.

Should Umno - which has 39 MPs - turn its back on Mr Muhyiddin, he would cease to control Parliament. But it remains to be seen if enough lawmakers from the once dominant party would endorse Mr Anwar as premier.

It is unlikely that snap polls ahead of the parliamentary term’s expiry in 2023 would be called, given the resurgent wave of coronavirus infections that saw 660 new cases on Tuesday.

Mr Anwar, who leads the main opposition alliance Pakatan Harapan said that Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin is set to meet political leaders to ascertain who controls Parliament.

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2020-10-13 15:32:10Z
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Singapore and China reaffirm 'excellent' relationship, commit to COVID-19 cooperation - CNA

SINGAPORE: Singapore and China reaffirmed the "excellent" bilateral relationship as Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Singapore on Tuesday (Oct 13).

This year marks 30 years since Singapore and China established diplomatic relations.

Dr Balakrishnan and State Councilor Wang noted that the two countries have maintained high-level exchanges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, said Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)in a press statement.

“Both sides committed mutual support for economic recovery, including cooperation in COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, and the safe resumption of international travel,” MFA said.

They also welcomed the good progress in bilateral cooperation in three government-to-government projects, as well as other areas such as trade, investment and people-to-people ties, the ministry added.

Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Wang also exchanged views on regional and international developments.

According to MFA, they welcomed cooperation by the international community against the socio-economic impact of the pandemic.

This included strengthening regional and multilateral cooperation on the equitable distribution of vaccines, maintaining supply chain connectivity and upholding the rules-based multilateral trading system.

Mr Wang is on a short trip to Southeast Asia. He had travelled from Malaysia and will later visit Laos and Thailand.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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2020-10-13 14:47:50Z
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Leave it to the best judgment of the king, says PM Muhyiddin on Anwar's bid to seize power - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Tuesday (Oct 13) that he will "leave it to the best judgment of the king", after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed he has a parliamentary majority to form a new government.

In his first group interview since being sworn in as prime minister in March this year, Mr Muhyiddin said his focus was on managing the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy.

"I don't want to comment on what Anwar did at the palace," he stated.

"As far as I’m concerned, I leave it to the best judgement of the Agong. The Agong I think is the most learned and qualified person. He has got his own way of doing things as per provided by the constitution."

He added: "Whatever decision he will make, he is always following what is provided by the constitution."

Mr Muhyiddin was speaking to the press via video conferencing as he is currently under a 14-day home quarantine, after a minister who attended a meeting he chaired tested positive for COVID-19.

He added that when Mr Anwar was meeting the king, he was engaged in a video conference with all the members of the National Security Council (MKN) about the COVID-19 issue.

READ: King to study relevant documents and consult party leaders, says Anwar after audience to demonstrate parliamentary majority

Mr Muhyiddin, who is the president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), had pulled the party of the PH coalition in late February to form the Perikatan Nasional government with lawmakers from Barisan Nasional and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia.

This political tussle at the federal level, which was put on hold for six months while the country fought the pandemic, has returned to the forefront with Mr Anwar claiming on Sep 23 that he had the majority of support from Malaysian parliamentarians.

Earlier at 2pm on Tuesday, Mr Anwar had announced that he had been in audience with King Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to present evidence of support for him as prime minister.

More leaders from other political parties are expected to meet with the king in the coming days, he said.

Anwar Ibrahim, Muhyiddin Yassin — Malaysia prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. (Photos: Bernama, Reuters/Lim Huey Teng)

The palace, however, said Mr Anwar had merely mentioned the number of MPs said to be supporting him but did not present a name list.

In criticising Mr Anwar, Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan said in a statement on Tuesday that the opposition leader has lied about commanding a majority.

He suggested to Mr Anwar to retire from politics if this is just a "desperate strategy" of his to threaten the stability of the government."It is obvious today that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin still has the support to continue leading the Perikatan Nasional government," he said.

CMCO IN SELANGOR, KL AND PUTRAJAYA NECESSARY

On COVID-19, Mr Muhyiddin defended the federal government's decision to impose a conditional movement control order (CMCO) in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, which was announced on Monday.

it is a necessary preemptive and proactive step to curtail the spread of the virus, he said.

Cases have been recorded across all districts in Selangor and there was an upward trend, he said.

"So I think it is a correct move made by MKN (yesterday), which I chair, to declare the whole state of Selangor under CMCO to make sure, on the basis of preemptive and proactive actions that MKN has done, we can curtail the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Selangor," he said.

Mr Muhyiddin said despite reducing people’s movement through, for instance, closure of schools, economic activities would not be impacted.

“It’s not just industries, but all economic activities,” Mr Muhyiddin said, adding that most businesses could continue to operate.

“We understand there must be a proper strike of balance between life and livelihood,” the prime minister said.

Up until September, the pandemic appeared to be under control in Malaysia between June till August as the country reopened gradually under the recovery movement control order.

The highest number of new daily cases recorded was on Oct 6, with 691 cases. As of Tuesday, Malaysia had 5,345 active cases out of 16,880 recorded cases, and 163 deaths.

The sharp rise was due in part to the surge in travel to and from Sabah for the recently concluded state election at the end of last month.

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2020-10-13 11:29:28Z
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Leave it to the best judgment of the king, says PM Muhyiddin on Anwar's bid to seize power - CNA

In his first group interview since being sworn in as prime minister in March this year, Mr Muhyiddin said his focus was on managing the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy.

"I don't want to comment on what Anwar did at the palace," he stated.

He added: "Whatever decision he will make, he is always following what is provided by the constitution."

The prime minister also said that when Mr Anwar was meeting the king, he was engaged in a video conference with all the members of the National Security Council about the COVID-19 issue.

READ: King to study relevant documents and consult party leaders, says Anwar after audience to demonstrate parliamentary majority

Earlier at 2pm on Tuesday, Mr Anwar had announced that he had been in audience with King Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to present evidence of support for him as prime minister.

More leaders from other political parties are expected to meet with the king in the coming days, he said.

The palace, however, said Mr Anwar had merely mentioned the number of MPs said to be supporting him but did not present a name list.

In criticising Mr Anwar, Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan said in a statement on Tuesday that the opposition leader has lied about commanding a majority.

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Malaysia king to study documents and consult party leaders, says Anwar amid bid to form new government - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday (Oct 13) that the king will study relevant documents he has presented on the members of parliament (MPs) backing his bid to form a new government, while consulting the leaders of various political parties.

Speaking at a press conference after an audience with King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the Istana Negara, Mr Anwar said: "With these documents, it is abundantly clear that we have registered a formidable, convincing majority among parliamentarians.

"I would appeal to Malaysians to exercise patience, wisdom and to allow the king to digest, decide based on the spirit of the Constitution and the discretion of his Highness."

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Anwar Ibrahim and Malaysian King — Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim met King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on Oct 13, 2020. (Photo: Bernama)

Mr Anwar also stressed that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has lost his parliamentary majority and it would be appropriate for him to resign.

He added that his audience with the king was not about victory or defeat, but to build a country that is "progressive and fair" to overcome COVID-19 and boost the economy.

Mr Anwar added that he was aware of some concerns expressed that the list of MPs backing him were mostly Malay-Muslim bumiputera.

In addressing this, Mr Anwar said: "Let me reiterate and categorically assure Malaysians at large - this is Malaysia and we have to accord rights to every single citizen in this country."

READ: Malaysia opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim leaves Istana Negara after audience with king

Responding to questions from journalists, Mr Anwar also confirmed that he has more than 120 MPs backing his bid.

He added that his government will be "an inclusive government" and that there was no "political or personal vendetta" against anyone.

However, he maintained that there has been no "deals" made with any individuals.

"It's very important to appreciate that I have already made it abundantly clear that we are committed to institutional reform, judicial independence and the rule of law. So there's no question about cutting deals with individuals, as alleged by some parties - that's completely irrelevant and irresponsible," said Mr Anwar.

Malaysia's Istana Negara — Istana Negara, the official residence of Malaysia's King. (Photo: Bernama)

However, Istana Negara issued a statement on Tuesday indicating that while Mr Anwar had presented the number of MPs who he claims are in support of him, he did not present a list of names to the king.

Meanwhile, Democratic Action Party's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has also confirmed that he has been summoned to the palace to meet the king.

Mr Anwar's meeting with the king came almost three weeks after he announced on Sep 23 that he has a “strong, formidable, convincing majority” of MPs to oust Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

His scheduled audience with the king a day earlier had to be postponed as the latter was hospitalised for food poisoning. The king was later discharged on Oct 2.

The king plays a largely ceremonial role in Malaysia but he could appoint a prime minister who in his view is likely to command a majority in parliament. He could also dissolve parliament and trigger elections on the premier's advice.

Mr Anwar had said he commanded support from close to two-thirds of parliament's 222 lawmakers, without giving actual numbers or disclosing who had pledged support.

Mr Muhyiddin, whose seven-month-old coalition has survived on a razor-thin majority, has cast doubt over Mr Anwar's claims and has called for him to prove his majority.

A list of 121 MPs who purportedly backed Mr Anwar was widely circulated, which led to a police investigation following the lodging of six police reports.

Police said an investigation has been initiated under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code over “the spread of rumours that can cause fear and alarm to the public” and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for the sharing of false, offensive or menacing content.

Mr Anwar has been summoned by the police to give a statement.

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2020-10-13 08:37:30Z
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