Coronavirus: Malaysia’s king meets political leaders as public anger grows over handling of pandemic

The monarch has the ability to lift the ongoing state of emergency that he declared in January in order for the government to tackle the pandemic

The emergency state allowed embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to suspend parliament, where he faced growing dissent

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (right) talks with King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah after a meeting at the National Palace, in Kuala Lumpur, in October 2010. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:05pm, 9 Jun 2021Updated: 6:22pm, 9 Jun 2021

Malaysia’s king is meeting politicians and royal leaders to discuss the Covid-19 outbreak and ongoing emergency, amid public anger over the government’s handling of the pandemic.

The members of the Conference of Rulers will convene on June 16, according to a statement from the palace. The meeting, to be chaired by King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad, will focus on the efforts to combat the pandemic and the measures taken throughout the emergency.

It’s the second rulers’ meeting since the king ascended the throne last year and comes after he met opposition leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, and Mohamad Sabu separately on Wednesday. The monarch is expected to meet former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday.

“His Majesty is our hope right now because parliament is unable to convene,” Lim, leader of the Democratic Action Party, said after seeing the monarch. “There is no space for the people to express their problems.”

Malaysia’s already elevated political risks have worsened due to “widespread and growing dissatisfaction” over how the government is managing the outbreak, Fitch Solutions wrote in a report Monday.

Rising public anger will likely affect the government’s unity, and Malaysians may take to the streets if elections aren’t held in coming months, it said.

Malaysia’s king could potentially put a stop to it. The monarch has the ability to lift the ongoing state of emergency that he declared in January in order for the government to tackle the pandemic. The emergency state allowed embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to suspend parliament – where he faced growing dissent – and enact temporary laws without legislative approval.