YOURSAY | ‘If he gets away unscathed, the tension we experienced over the weekend will be just the beginning…’

We're discussing - Hishammuddin on whether PM should quit

MS: The silver lining in this ridiculous and absolutely unnecessary "emergency" kerfuffle is how the floodlights have been turned onto the trio - Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin and Senior Minister (Economy) Azmin Ali.

Also, to an extent, the viability of the royalty to act as a “check and balance” to prevent overreaching by unscrupulous politicians.

The question now is whether the devious three will get away scot-free and be allowed to carry out more mischief another day.

The royals should by now be patently aware of the real and present danger of ambitious politicians using race, religion, the Federal Constitution, and the royal institution itself to game the system of governance that this country has preserved intact for the last 63 years.

If the three and their enablers (seen and unseen) get away unscathed, there is a very real possibility that the palpable tension we experienced over the weekend is merely a preview of what may be unleashed - Covid or no Covid.

The one and only way to prevent any such crises from being engineered again is by making them pay the ultimate political price - being consigned to the sidelines of public life from where they may only look on helplessly... and regret, if not, repent.

YellowKancil0051: Of course, Muhyiddin must resign. He doesn’t have the confidence of the monarchs now. His entire rule will be propped up by the destructive scheming of his political operators like Hamzah and Azmin.

The country has gone from disaster to disaster because of their political shenanigans, not to mention a bloated cabinet of 70 ministers and their deputies.

The latest gambit must be the last straw as one cannot imagine Muhyiddin will command the majority support of the Parliament after proposing to suspend it through assuming emergency powers.

The country simply cannot afford a government like this in this time of crisis. The Sheraton Move in retrospect is the act of selfish and irresponsible politicians. The country is only running decently due to the heroic efforts of dedicated public servants while their political bosses are busy politicking.

We need to sideline politicians like Azmin and Hamzah until we can get rid of them for good in the next general election.

Cyclonus: Muhyiddin is not my favourite prime minister, but if he steps down then who else? There will be another political instability while individuals, party factions, and political parties scramble for power and position.

We need stability for economic recovery. Changes at the top mean a domino effect on other key positions and changes in policy. As far as the Covid-19 fight is concerned, the key figure is Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and his team; forget the politicians.

BusinessFirst: This is classic overreach and hubris on the part of the Bersatu leadership and Azmin's team. It was not enough to be prime minister and take over the federal government. From the start, they played politics and pushed the envelope. They did not quit while they were ahead.

First, they undermined their state governments of Johor and Perak. Not content with that, they took over the Malacca as well. Then, they kicked out their own founder Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his supporters.

You would have thought they would be satisfied, but no. They went for Kedah next. Were they satisfied? No. After that, they changed the speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.

Having consolidated power, did they stop to say, "Let's stop politics and start to govern"? No, they decided to use the law to charge DAP leader Lim Guan Eng, pressure the opposition, and bring up opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's cases again.

If this is not enough, they then reached across the South China Sea and engineered the defection of more than two dozen state assemblypersons in Sabah - precipitating an election.

By now, it is clear that there is a lust for power for the sake of power. However, while their "gamble" appears to have paid off, it is only for the short run. Now, the chickens have come back to roost.

Promises were made to Sabahans. "Abah is with you", support "Abah". Federal and state should be together. No PAS in Sabah as their politics is not suitable. Then what did they do? Send "independents" to contest against Umno. Cheat Umno out of the chief minister position.

As if that was not bad enough, they caused the Covid-19 explosion in Sabah and spread it to the Peninsular. Since then, has Muhyiddin bothered to visit Sabah? Since then, has there been tangible help for Sabahans? Unfortunately, no.

Has there been deployment of a large number of doctors and personal protective equipment (PPE) to Sabah? Has extra money been given to the Sabah government which is now “aligned” with the federal government? No and no.

It looks like Sabahans have been left on their own to fend for themselves. Played out with false promises, again. And yes, before I forget, PAS also got into the Sabah state assembly as reward for their loyalty to Muhyiddin.

It does not matter that the case involving the “hero” from Turkey was granted “no further action” despite public uproar and that the MP of the "distorted Bible" fame has still not been punished. Instead, they spend on RM6,000 lunches and luxury cars, government-linked company (GLC) and ministerial positions. The opinion and the disgust of the public are ignored.

Is it not apparent that you pushed until the breaking point? If you had stopped before Sabah, there would be no Covid Crisis Explosion Part 3. You would not have spent whatever political capital you had left "bullying" Umno for the CM post in Sabah. There would have been no need to even contemplate an emergency to bolster your position.

In the end, this is classic overreach. It is clear that this government is finished. It is not if, but when it collapses. That will happen while the horse-trading winds up. Who will emerge? Anwar? Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah? Shafie Apdal? Well, to be fair, any of these three is better than what we have now.

Bobby0: Umno is as guilty as Muhyiddin when its MPs, at a cabinet meeting, supported him to ask for emergency powers from the Agong.

Why did they keep quiet at that moment? Why did they not object to such a move? Why is Umno not taking to task their MPs who are equally guilty?

So, stop this wayang kulit of blaming Muhyiddin alone. The whole cabinet, including these MIC, MCA, PBS, GPS and all the others, are guilty of these acts of betraying the people. They should resign together with Muhyiddin.

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