KUALA LUMPUR - Nearly five months of uncertainty over whether Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin commands a legitimate majority is set to end on Monday when his government attempts to replace the Speaker of Parliament.
How these opening hours of parliamentary debate - the first in over seven months - play out will also offer a clue as to whether Malaysia will head to the polls soon, even though the next general election is only due in late 2023. The intervening months have seen several lawmakers from both the ruling PN and the PH-led opposition cross the floor, and estimates of Mr Muhyiddin's support oscillate between a high of 115 MPs to the bare minimum simple majority of 112.
Mr Muhyiddin has been busy bolstering his position with the full extent of his executive power, by appointing nearly nine-tenths of government MPs as ministers or deputy ministers, as well as chairmen of state agencies and government-linked companies. In the unprecedented event the government loses any votes during the 25-day parliamentary session, Mr Muhyiddin will probably ask the King to dissolve the legislative and pave the way for immediate polls. But the likely win means other scenarios open up.
But Mr Muhyiddin might hold firm for a later date, with internal government polling showing the public broadly approves of his administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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