Sin Chew Daily

Early August, when Umno announced to retract its support for Muhyiddin and his PN government, a bomb was dropped in Malaysia's politics, intensifying the fight between pro-Muhyiddin and anti-Muhyiddin camps in the country which is now entering the decisive final phase.

Pressure started to build up following the resignation of two Umno ministers, with the PM announcing he would face a confidence motion when the parliament reconvenes next month in a bid to dissolve the pressure and buy more time to lobby for support.

Unfortunately, with over a dozen Umno reps withdrawing their support, a huge shortfall has taken shape, which is not easy at all to fill.

Last Friday, Muhyiddin held out an olive branch by proposing a cross-party cooperation framework in hope of getting the opposition's support for him to stay in power, but this has been rejected outright.

With over a dozen Umno MPs withdrawing their support and the opposition turning their back on him, Muhyiddin is left with only two options: to resign or to seek the King's consent to dissolve the parliament to pave way for fresh elections. Under the current circumstances, holding a general election is not a feasible option.

Even if the end is near for Muhyiddin's premiership, the political hoohahs will not come to a close instantly.

Who will be the country's next prime minister? How will he redistribute the existing political powers? Rival factions are pitted against one another to maximize their own political interests, plunging the country's politics into the depth of prolonged uncertainty.

It has been learned that PN allies have struck an accord that an Umno MP will become prime minister once Muhyiddin relinquishes his post, while the DPM post will go to Bersatu. But then it remains a huge unknown as to who will eventually get the top post.

It has been said that Umno veteran leader Tengku Razaleigh stands a good chance, while the incumbent DPM Ismail Sabri has substantial support to vie for the post, too.

As for the DPM post, MITI senior minister Azmin Ali and home minister Hamzah Zainudin are the favorites.

Power struggle has always been a zero sum game, and given the extremely delicate situation of today, any slightest shift in a lawmaker's inclination could see a complete change in the final outcome. As such, no one knows who has the best laugh until the very last minute.

In the meantime, the COVID-19 pandemic in this country remains challenging. Just as the politicians are busy with seizing the power and doing head counts, the helpless rakyat are suffering the insurmountable impact of the pandemic.

On Sunday, the country recorded 20,546 new COVID-19 cases for a fifth straight day of over 20k new cases a day. The cumulative total soared above the 1.4 million mark.

The political chaos that has been going on for some time must be slowed down now so that the government and politicians can focus on fighting the virus and revitalizing the ailing national economy. Endless political turmoil will only do more harm to our country.

Whoever takes over the baton and puts up a new cabinet should strive to seek political reconciliation so that politicians on both sides of the divide will work together to battle the virus and put the nation back on the track of growth.