The court decision issued on 28 July finding former Prime Minister Najib Razak guilty of having diverted USD 9.87 from a subsidiary of state development fund 1MDB into his personal bank account may deliver some popular benefits to the current PM, Muhyiddin Yassin.… Read the rest
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was able to remove the parliamentary speaker chosen by the previous government by a vote of 111-109 in the 222-seat chamber, with one MP absent and the presiding officer abstaining (which makes the ruling coalition’s actual majority 113-109).… Read the rest
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and People’s Justice Party (PKR) leader Anwar Ibrahim have over the past few days hardened their respective positions on becoming the opposition’s candidate for prime minister.… Read the rest
Parliament held its first parliamentary session under the government of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday, 18 May, and as expected it avoided hearing the no-confidence motion of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.… Read the rest
On 18 May, parliament will meet for the first time under the new government of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. The agenda of the one-day sitting is to hear the message of the king for its new session and to hold discussions on the government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.… Read the rest
Below is the latest edition of our weekly Asia coronavirus update. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you want to discuss any of the countries mentioned in more detail.… Read the rest
● Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin eased quarantine restrictions more than a week ahead of schedule.
● Nine out of thirteen states have refused to comply fully, either maintaining some restrictions or staying with the original 12 May target.… Read the rest
● Prime Minister Muyhiddin Yassin may delay reconvening parliament because of a threatened no-confidence vote from former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
● The social and political divisions along ethnic and religious lines will worsen, possibly causing some protests and, over the longer-term, the return to the streets of the electoral reform movement Clean 2.0 (“Bersih”).… Read the rest
● Former PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim appears boxed in, even though he has the largest number of MPs on his side.
● Interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad appears to have miscalculated his leverage.… Read the rest
