Asian Angle | Malaysia’s two emergencies: why 2021’s freeze on democracy is not like the trouble of 1969
- PM Muhyiddin now has unfettered powers after calling a state of emergency as Covid-19 cases surge, the first time a national one has been declared since racial riots in 1969
- Critics say the move is that of an embattled leader trying to cling on to power, but there is hope: voters will not tolerate a return to authoritarian rule
The irony is that the massive increase of Covid-19 cases provided an excuse for Muhyiddin to amass unfettered executive powers without having to be accountable to parliament.
The emergency was declared in the name of a rapidly worsening health crisis, which can be very much attributed to the third wave of infections since September as a result of the huge numbers of people travelling during the Sabah state election. Up until August, Malaysia had more or less flattened the Covid-19 curve.
But that Pakatan Harapan government was inherently unstable due to the rivalries between Mahathir and Anwar, and in each of their respective parties there was a subplot – Muhyiddin, at the time home affairs minister, was unhappy with Mahathir’s rule, while Anwar had an estranged relationship with his erstwhile protégé Azmin Ali.
