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Rabu, 23 November 2022

BN chief Zahid accused of lying to Malaysian King, going against coalition's stance - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - The chief of Barisan Nasional (BN), Zahid Hamidi, has been accused of lying to the Malaysian King and going against the coalition’s collective stance to remain neutral in the bitter fight between two larger alliances to form the next government.

BN’s top leadership had agreed on Tuesday that it would take a neutral position as the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliances raced to secure support from lawmakers to control Parliament after last Saturday’s inconclusive general election.

Former Cabinet minister Annuar Musa has claimed that Zahid carried out a “callous act” by sending a letter to Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who is mediating in the crisis, claiming that all 30 BN’s Members of Parliament are backing PH.

“If the letter to the King is an attempt at lying to the ruler, it is a very heavy offence,” Tan Sri Annuar said in a Facebook posting on Wednesday. He posted a copy of the letter that was sent to the ruler. Two BN leaders have confirmed the letter’s veracity.

One of BN’s four component parties, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), has renewed its call for Zahid to resign. MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon said the “claims in the letter were completely out of line with the decision made by the BN supreme council”.

“In both meetings, the supreme council resolved that BN will not support anyone as the prime minister at this moment,” he added.

PH, led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, won 82 seats in the polls, while rival PN, led by ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin, won 73.

Both men are vying to become the 10th Malaysian prime minister and have wooed BN, which has 30 seats in the 222-strong federal Parliament.

A minimum 112 seats are needed to secure parliamentary majority.

Zahid has faced several calls to resign, following BN’s worst electoral performance in the 15 general elections since independence. It won 30 seats, compared with the 54 seats it secured in 2018 when the coalition led by then premier Najib Razak was kicked out of power for the first time.

On Sunday, former Cabinet minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Zahid must quit, following BN’s disastrous performance.

In a tweet, Mr Khairy said a general ought to be dignified and take responsibility for losing a war. “This especially so when the general’s strategy led to the loss of many soldiers in the battlefield. The president must step down. Now.”

Meanwhile, short video platform TikTok said on Wednesday it was on high alert for content that violates its guidelines in Malaysia, after authorities warned of a rise in ethnic tension on social media.

“We continue to be on high alert and will aggressively remove any violative content,” TikTok, which is owned by the China-based firm ByteDance, said in a statement.

TikTok said it had been in contact with Malaysian authorities on severe and repeat violations of its community guidelines leading up to the election.

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2022-11-23 12:10:17Z
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Violent Protests Erupt at Apple's Main iPhone Plant in China - Bloomberg

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2022-11-23 09:38:54Z
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Malaysia's King to hold special meeting with fellow rulers on Thursday, report says - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian King will be meeting his fellow rulers at a special gathering at the national palace on Thursday.

Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah will be seeking the opinions of the rulers on the impasse in the formation of a federal government, according to a statement issued by the palace.

The meeting will begin at 10.30am and is expected to last at least three hours.

Palace sources said the special meeting would be crucial.

Sultan Abdullah has been trying to put up a unity government comprising Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) but has failed so far.

PH led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim won 82 parliamentary seats and PN led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin won 73 seats. A minimum 112 seats are needed to win control of the 222-strong Parliament.

The rulers are expected to be briefed on the legal procedures due to the hung Parliament. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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2022-11-23 06:43:32Z
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Selasa, 22 November 2022

Is a unity government in Malaysia formed by Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional still possible? - CNA

Mr Muhyiddin on Tuesday said he had garnered the support of 115 members of parliament, more than needed to form a majority. However, his claims were dismissed by the king.

The role of the king could prove “pivotal”, Prof Weiss said.

“That the king stepped in, (it is) good that there is a figure with stablising potential,” she said. She added, however, that it is a “fundamentally undemocratic” force by its very nature to have an unelected constitutional monarch who is making that decision rather than having the parties work that out on their own.

The king has yet to decide who would be the next prime minister, after meeting the leaders of PH and PN on Tuesday. Meanwhile, all 30 Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians who won in the election have been summoned to the palace to meet with the ruler individually.

COALITIONS WITH POWER TO BREAK STALEMATE

Sarawak’s kingmaker coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) said it is going to wait for the dust to settle before making a final decision on which coalition to back, which Prof Weiss said is “extremely wise”.

“They then maintain the upper hand as being the kingmaker instead of simply one of a couple of potential kingmakers,” she said.

“Moreover, by doing so, they make sure that the specific and quite distinct interests of East Malaysia are taken into account in forming this coalition.”

BN can also potentially break the stalemate, with 30 seats to offer, but this would require the coalition to fix its leadership issues, Prof Weiss said.

Its decision to withhold support for either of the frontrunners is “quite perplexing”, Prof Weiss said, adding that it may reflect infighting within BN, which there has been speculation about.

She noted that immediately after the election, some called for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to step down as the head of BN’s main component party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and by extension, as the head of BN.

“We've had really conflicting messages all through the last couple of days from BN about whether they were or were not looking for an alliance with Pakatan,” she said.

“I think it's really just a question of the BN pulling itself together and sorting out what it is that it's willing to accept.”

She added that the PH component party, Chinese-led Democratic Action Party (DAP) is a hindrance to BN working with the coalition.

“This simply reflects the extent to which BN rhetoric has demonised the DAP,” she said.

Another factor that may lead to BN breaking the stalemate is negotiating a better deal in terms of which positions they might hold in Cabinet, she said.

Prof Weiss held out hope that the coalitions would reach an agreement.

“My guess is that the BN will come around and will decide to join Pakatan as being the easiest solution,” she said.

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2022-11-23 03:45:17Z
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In another day of intrigue for Malaysia, BN chiefs head for meeting with King - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders are meeting Malaysia’s King on Wednesday morning as the country waits to see who will lead the next government.

BN chairman Zahid Hamidi was seen entering the Palace gates at around 10.45am. He left 40 minutes later, accompanied by BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief Anwar Ibrahim and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) counterpart Muhyiddin are deadlocked in the race to be Malaysia’s next leader after Parliament was hung following last Saturday’s closely fought election.

Support from BN’s block of 30 MPs can allow one of them to form the government. But it failed to reach a decision in an emergency meeting on Tuesday night.

Although there was no official statement from the Umno-led pact, leaders leaving the talks said they had sought to postpone the royal summons for their 30 MPs to be individually interviewed on whom they supported as prime minister.

The Straits Times has learnt that Umno president Zahid and vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the caretaker Prime Minister who led government before polls were held, will seek to inform Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah that their coalition’s stance remains unchanged: they support no candidate and will stay in opposition.

Representatives from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) have also been summoned for an audience after BN’s. They had initially pledged their 23 MPs to PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin but later said they would abide by the King’s decision.

Although former premier Muhyiddin claimed on Tuesday evening that he had the support of 115 MPs in the 222-strong legislature, this ostensibly includes members of BN, whose leadership insists that all its MPs remain neutral.

But well-placed sources have told ST that even as at Tuesday, as many as 11 BN MPs want to back Tan Sri Muhyiddin, which would be sufficient to take him past the simple majority mark of 112.

The King had decreed on Tuesday that no MP had the majority and summoned both Datuk Seri Anwar and Mr Muhyiddin to propose a unity government.

Although former deputy premier Anwar said he “accepted the spirit” of such an arrangement, Mr Muhyiddin rejected the proposal outright, declaring that his PN had decided “from the very beginning” that it would not work with PH.

PH won 82 seats in last Saturday’s vote, making it the largest coalition. However, while PN took just 73, parties from east Malaysia supply at least another 29, bringing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin across the 100-mark.

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2022-11-23 01:16:50Z
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China's Lockdowns Surge in Week Since Covid Policy Adjusted - Bloomberg

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China's Lockdowns Surge in Week Since Covid Policy Adjusted Bloomberg
Beijing tightens entry rules as Covid-19 cases rise The Straits Times
Beijing sees record COVID-19 cases as China outbreak spirals CNA
Hutong Cat | The Chinese are fed up with Covid restrictions & they're showing it Hindustan Times
Beijing shuts parks, Shanghai tightens entry as China's Covid-19 cases rise The Straits Times
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2022-11-22 08:15:06Z
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As it happens: Leaders of Pakatan Harapan, Perikatan Nasional arrive at palace to meet king - CNA

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2022-11-22 07:02:00Z
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