KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 1 (Sin Chew Daily) — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is confident that he has more than 50% support in the parliament.

In the past one year, the Perikatan Nasional government is seen as a weak government with rumors that it is on the verge of collapse on several occasions.

Muhyiddin earlier sought the King's consent to declare a state of emergency twice, a move widely seen as he desperately holding on to the power.

Muhyiddin said he had reiterated that the declaration of emergency was not a political agenda.

He said he was not afraid of being challenged in the parliament.

"Although the opposition claimed that I do not command sufficient support, the Budget 2021 was passed with 27 times of voting. I do not wish to boast about my support. If I do not have the support, the Budget 2021 would not have passed.

"I am confident that I still have the support from majority of MPs, and I believe my status is legitimate and constitutional. I am not worried about things that I do," he said.

Muhyiddin said he would not have set a deadline for the emergency decree if it was politically motivated.

"The state of emergency declared in the past was without a deadline. The state of emergency declared this year will end on August 1. I will abide by the decision of the Independent Special Committee on Emergency 2021 if it is of the view that the state of emergency can be ended earlier," he said.

"If our battle against the pandemic is over and the situation has returned to normal, we do not wish to be constrained by various restrictions. I hope people can understand that I am not worried about not getting sufficient support in the parliament," he said.

Muhyiddin requested for a declaration of emergency last October but Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah rejected the request after discussing in the rulers' conference.

As the pandemic was deteriorating, His Majesty finally consented to the declaration of emergency on January 12 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Muhyiddin also said the declaration of emergency was to ensure that the government could carry out preventive measures quickly enough to contain the virus without having to go through the parliament.

"We are racing against time in the battle against COVID-19. Going through the parliament will invariably take a long time," he said.

Muhyiddin also stressed that general election will only be held once the country is out of the woods from the pandemic.

He admitted that the Sabah election had led to the third wave of COVID-19 infections, and the country must therefore not hold the general election until the whole pandemic is over.