The Appointment Of Muhyiddin Yassin Is Considered A Betrayal Of Mahathir Mohamad

Muhyiddin Yassin (Twitter / @ 501Awani)

JAKARTA - On February 24, Mahathir Mohamad decided to resign from his position as prime minister (PM). The resignation came after Mahathir had spent a week of conflict. A number of politicians from the ruling coalition of parties met. They discussed a possible new alliance with members of the ousted ruling party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

However, the meeting made Anwar Ibrahim feel that Mahathir Mohamad's party, the United Indigenous Party, was treasonous and thwarted Anwar Ibrahim from being made prime minister, which had previously been promised.

After a debate over which party was traitorous, the King of Malaysia then chose Muhyiddin Yassin, a nationalist politician who also came from the United Indigenous Party. Muhyiddin was sworn in as PM Malaysia on Sunday 1 March 2020. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said he believed Muhyiddin had majority support in parliament.

The inauguration ended a "chaotic" week after Mahathir Mohamad stepped down. But now a new problem arises, namely Mahathir Mohamad feels that now Muhyiddin Yassin is the one who committed treason and destroyed the coalition. Mahathir called for a parliamentary hearing to prove Muhyiddin did not get a majority in parliament.

"This is a very strange thing. The losers will form the government," said Mahathir Mohamad, quoted by Reuters, Thursday, March 5, 2020.

Muhyiddin Yassin is a former interior minister in the Pakatan Harapan cabinet under Mahathir Mohamad. He is now working with the UMNO Party and the conservative Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to form a new coalition.

Although Mahathir said he would get a vote in the parliamentary session to challenge Muhyiddin, he acknowledged that the possibility of defeat was possible. Nonetheless, Mahathir's coalition said they had a majority vote and vowed to cast a vote of truth at a parliamentary hearing on March 9. However, the plan had to be postponed after PM Muhyiddin decided to postpone the parliamentary process for two months.

Spokesperson Mohamad Ariff Md. Yusof said in a statement that he had received a letter from PM Muhyiddin stating that a parliamentary session would be held on 18 May. No reasons were given as to why the trial was postponed.

The decision to postpone the parliamentary session practically nullifies the chances of a new coalition under Muhyiddin being "swept away" quickly. The postponement of the parliamentary session was also seen as Muhyiddin's attempt to consolidate support before being tested in parliament.