16 Friday International Friday, July 9, 2021 Malaysian party withdraws support for embattled PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The biggest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition said yesterday it was withdrawing support for the embattled prime minister and urged him to step down. There was no immediate reaction from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, but analysts said he was likely to hold Japan landslide on to power in the short term. His administration has been racked by instability for months-it only has a razor-thin majority in parliament, and is beset by infighting between different factions. Pressure has toll rises to nine mounted since a state of emergency was declared in January to fight the coronavirus under which parliament was suspended, with critics TOKYO: The death toll in a landslide charging Muhyiddin was using the crisis to cling to power. that hit the Japanese resort town of After a meeting of its top decision-making body that stretched into Atami rose to nine yesterday, local offi- the early hours of yesterday, the United Malays National Organization cials said, as hundreds of rescuers con- (UMNO), the biggest party backing the premier, withdrew its support. “UMNO respectfully urges Muhyiddin Yassin to step down to allow a tinued the search for missing residents. new prime minister to be appointed for a limited period,” party presi- “Today, two more people were con- dent Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in a statement. firmed dead, with the number of victims The new leader would steer the country through a worsening virus now totalling nine,” disaster-manage- outbreak, before fresh elections can be held, he said. “This is important ment spokesman Yuta Hara told AFP. to allow a new government that is truly stable and holds the mandate of the people to be formed,” he added. The UMNO leader listed a PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia: In this file photo Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin There were still 22 people unaccounted string of what he said were missteps by the government, that included unveils his new cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya. —AFP for, said a spokesman for Shizuoka pre- botched handling of the pandemic and failing to provide for those af- fecture, where the town is located. fected by on-off lockdowns. Muhyiddin, who leads a party called UMNO figures in his cabinet-including naming one as his deputy-in Dozens of homes were swept away in the Bersatu, took power last year following the collapse of a reformist ad- an attempt to ease tensions. disaster that hit on Saturday morning, ministration. James Chin, a Malaysia expert from the University of Tasmania, said Muhyiddin had chosen the “option of fighting for his political life and when a landslide descended in several ‘Fighting for political life’ dividing UMNO further”. “He’s got no choice but to hang on.” Universiti violent waves. It came after days of in- UMNO held 38 of the 115 parliamentary seats in Muhyiddin’s Na- Sains Malaysia’s professor Sivamurugan Pandian said UMNO’s own di- tense downpours in and around Atami, tional Alliance coalition, although allegiances have been changing rap- visions “gives time for Muhyiddin to make his next move”. The leader which is about 90 kilometers (55 miles) idly in recent months. A party needs 112 to command a majority. But agreed earlier this week to reconvene parliament on July 26, before the southwest of Tokyo. UMNO itself is deeply divided, with some such as Zahid pushing for state of emergency ends in August, under growing public anger and Muhyiddin to quit while others still support his government. Just hours following pressure from the king. But the sitting is short-just five days- Much of Japan is currently in its rainy before Zahid’s announcement, Muhyiddin promoted two leading and analysts believe he can avoid a no-confidence vote. —AFP season, and many parts of the country are vulnerable to landslides because homes are built on slopes where ground can loosen and collapse suddenly after Rajapaksa family heavy downpours. Scientists say climate change is also tightens grip on intensifying Japan’s rainy season be- cause a warmer atmosphere holds more water. Confirming the number of people crisis-hit Sri Lanka missing after the disaster has been COLOMBO: A brother of Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Ra- complicated-many families have sum- japaksa yesterday became finance minister, tightening the fam- mer homes in Atami but primarily live ily’s grip on power in the South Asian nation as it confronts elsewhere, while elderly residents may growing economic troubles. Basil Rajapaksa, 70, took over the have moved to care homes, local media finance portfolio from another brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The 72-year-old president has put Mahinda in charge said. of a newly created but lower level economic policies and plan- But with several dozen people still un- ning ministry. Mahinda Rajapaksa, 75, was the country’s presi- accounted for, rescue and recovery ef- dent for a decade up to 2015, and Basil, who is known as the forts involving about 1,700 police family’s political strategist, managed the economy then. officers, firefighters, soldiers and coast- Basil takes charge now after the economy recorded a coron- guard members were continuing. They avirus-inflicted 3.6 percent contraction for 2020, the worst since have been using shovels and buckets to independence from Britain in 1948. With his entry, the cabinet COLOMBO: Newly appointed Sri Lanka’s Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa (center) remove mud from mangled houses and headed by Gotabaya now has five members of the Rajapaksa receives blessing from a Buddhist monk after signing documents during his swear- family. Eldest brother Chamal, 78, is minister of irrigation while soil from wrecked vehicles in an effort to ing-in ceremony at the Ministry of Finance office in Colombo yesterday. —AFP the prime minister’s eldest son Namal, 35, is the youth and sports find survivors or the missing. minister. Several Rajapaksa family members hold junior minister Persistent rain in the area has at times positions and other key positions in the administration. any evidence to back charges he syphoned off millions of dollars forced rescue teams to pull back and Basil Rajapaksa was described as “Mr Ten Percent” in a 2007 from state coffers. As a dual US-Sri Lankan citizen, Basil was suspend operations for fear of further US embassy cable published by the WikiLeaks organisation be- prohibited from standing in the 2020 election, but Gotabaya re- mudslides. —AFP cause of commissions he allegedly took from government con- moved constitutional provisions which prevented his entry to the tracts. He has denied any wrongdoing and inquiries failed to find legislature. —AFP