The biggest party in Malaysia's Perikatan Nasional (PN) ruling coalition - Umno - yesterday called for a political ceasefire, about a week after it threatened to withdraw its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, as the country wrestles with a rising number of coronavirus cases.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party would now fully back Tan Sri Muhyiddin's government to overcome the economic challenges arising from the partial lockdowns imposed on one-third of the country due to a new surge in Covid-19 infections.
The statement by Zahid is likely to put a dent in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's bid to become prime minister.
Datuk Seri Anwar had claimed a parliamentary majority early last week, purportedly with the backing of Zahid and several other Umno leaders.
But the latest Umno U-turn to again back the PN government means that Mr Anwar may no longer receive the support he needs to claim the premiership, outlining Malaysia's fluid political situation.
Mr Anwar has, to date, refused to divulge the list of parliamentarians who are backing his bid for the premiership.
Both the Royal Palace and the police have said the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president has not revealed the names of his backers.
Zahid said in a statement: "The party has ordered all of the party's leaders who are in the Cabinet to give their full focus to help the people and reduce the burden that they suffer due to the impact of Covid-19." He also called for a "strengthening" of ties in the PN coalition to combat the impact of the pandemic.
Umno had, on Oct 13, said it would consider pulling out of PN, should its "fresh demands" not be met. These demands reportedly included a Cabinet reshuffle to appease the party's top leaders, including securing the deputy prime minister's post.
The demands reflected increasing tensions between Umno - which is PN's biggest party with 39 MPs - and Prime Minister Muhyiddin's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. While Bersatu has 31 MPs, it has 11 Cabinet posts compared to Umno's nine.
Tensions deepened after the Sabah election on Sept 26 when a Bersatu leader was appointed chief minister of the state instead of an Umno chieftain.
Following Mr Anwar's Oct 13 audience with Malaysia's King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, to claim parliamentary majority, the palace said the king had postponed interviewing party leaders to verify the claim until the partial lockdown to curb the coronavirus spread is lifted.
The federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, along with Selangor and Sabah states - which together house about 30 per cent of the country's 32 million people - have been placed under a conditional movement control order (CMCO).
The 14-day CMCO for Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor is scheduled to be lifted next Tuesday, unless the government decides to extend it.
Malaysia has reported more than 800 daily coronavirus cases in the past four days, reaching an all-time high of 871 cases on Sunday.
It reported 732 cases yesterday. Selangor - the state that surrounds federal capital Kuala Lumpur - had the second highest number of daily cases, at 114, after Sabah's 535.
