Malaysian PM reassures country on emergency rule

Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has assured the country of his civilian-led government's resolve to fight COVID-19.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said on Tuesday that he had consented to Muhyiddin's proposal to declare a state of emergency until Aug 1 to curb the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus.

Muhyiddin said in a televised speech that the emergency order will allow the king to make the necessary decrees to tackle the pandemic, including allowing the government to take over private healthcare facilities if public hospitals are stretched to capacity.

While the emergency order will suspend Parliament and bar the holding of elections, this was not a military coup and there would be no curfew, he said.

The surprise announcement of emergency rule was made a day after authorities enforced another round of lockdown measures to control the rising number of COVID-19 cases. There had been 141,533 cases in Malaysia by Wednesday, the World Health Organization said, the third highest number in Southeast Asia.

Mustafa Izzuddin, visiting professor of international relations at the Islamic University of Indonesia, said the declaration "is necessary and timely as the (number of) infections has spiraled out of control, reaching a tipping point".

The emergency order is also a "political blessing in disguise" for Muhyiddin as he continues to remain prime minister despite the political fragility of the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition and calls for a no-confidence vote in Parliament on his leadership, Mustafa said.

Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and Nazri Abdul Aziz, two legislators belonging to the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, the largest party in the ruling coalition, quit Perikatan Nasional this month. Nazri said the withdrawal means Muhyiddin and Perikatan Nasional are now a minority government, with only 109 MPs supporting Perikatan Nasional in the Parliament.

Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at the French investment bank Natixis, said the emergency order may be perceived as a "political move" but she believes its enforcement is necessary to curb the rapid rise in the number of cases.

Wan Suhaimie Wan Mohd Saidie, head of economic research at Kenanga Investment Bank in Malaysia, said the emergency order can ensure political stability amid the pandemic.