PETALING JAYA, Feb 29 — The task of bringing Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) back into Pakatan Harapan (PH) now falls on its chairperson Tun Dr Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Parti Amanah Negara Deputy President Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub.

Salahuddin said now that Dr Mahathir has been named as PH’s choice for prime minister, more Bersatu lawmakers would lend their support again for the coalition.

“That is Tun’s task along with other Bersatu members who support him.

“I think more of them will join Pakatan Harapan on the factor that Tun will be the PM,” he told reporters when met at Eastin Hotel.

Salahuddin said PH wanted Dr Mahathir to lead again and to continue the coalition’s good work of serving the rakyat.

When asked on Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s own attempt to form another government coalition, dubbed as Perikatan Nasional, Salahuddin refused to go in-depth on the matter.

“That is his stance, his politics,” he said.

However, Salahuddin also recalled his good rapport with Muhyiddin as they had both worked to set up the Pakatan Harapan political structure and subsequently the state government in Johor.

Salahuddin is the assemblyman for Simpang Jeram and the MP for Pulai while Muhyiddin is the Bukit Gambir assemblyman and Pagoh MP.

Earlier today, PH had issued a statement that it now supports Dr Mahathir as their prime minister instead of PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

SAN FRANCISCO: Coronavirus cases emerged up and down the US West Coast late Friday as health officials warned infections are already spreading within the community.

In the space of a few hours, authorities in California, Oregon and Washington confirmed four new cases of the virus. Most had no known links to countries hit by an outbreak nor other infected patients.

“The cat on this disease has been out of the bag for so long that there’s people everywhere that are potentially spreading it,” Bela Matyas, a health officer at Solano County in California.

“It’s extremely likely that a fair amount of community transmission has been going on for a while.”

The infections span states covering the entire US western seaboard. After breaking out in Hubei province in China, the coronavirus is now in at least 50 countries and has taken hold in South Korea, Italy and Iran.

US President Donald Trump, at a campaign rally in South Carolina before the latest cases were announced, said his administration is prepared for “the worst”.

The coronavirus case reported in California Friday was the second diagnosed with the virus despite a lack of known ties to other infected patients or areas. Like the first case, the patient is located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Health officials described her as an adult with chronic health issues who had no recent history of travel and no known contact with anyone diagnosed with the virus.

Similarly in Oregon, the infected patient from Washington County had no known connections to the virus. The person works at a school in the adjoining Clackamas County and may have exposed students and staff there, the Oregon Health Authority said.

Two new cases in Washington state included a school-aged adolescent who has no known travel history or encountered anyone who had visited affected areas, health officials said.

The other patient had travelled to South Korea. The two tested positive in local tests and are awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest California patient, hospitalised for having difficulty breathing, lives in Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley.

On Wednesday, health officials in the Golden State’s Solano County reported the nation’s first known coronavirus case that had no obvious source of infection.

The two counties lie 90 miles apart, and officials said Friday that the latest patient had not recently travelled between them.

“What we know now is that the virus is here, present at some level, but we still don’t know to what degree,” said Sara Cody, director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.

The case came to light after a doctor treating the patient contacted the county health department on Wednesday and said the woman had symptoms that could represent coronavirus.

The following morning, the doctor submitted a swab sample, which was tested at the county’s own health lab, Cody said.

The results – testing positive – came back Thursday night, and the county began trying to identify and locate people who had come into contact with her.

Health officials around the US have said they expect more cases and that the coronavirus is likely in wider circulation than the handful of diagnosed cases would indicate.

State and local health departments, which are the front lines of detection, have struggled to get test kits from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention working properly. Without working kits, it’s been difficult or impossible for them to screen cases broadly.

The earlier patient from Solano County has extended family and interactions with people in Santa Clara County, said Matyas, the Solano health officer.

The Santa Clara County patient was diagnosed with a locally administered test. Some local labs have complained that the test kits sent to them aren’t accurate, and the CDC limits categories of patients it says should be tested.

In a statement, the CDC said the new patient was being considered a “presumptive positive case” and it will conduct confirmatory testing.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kemelut politik Malaysia memasuki hari ke-7 hari ini dalam usaha mencari blok politik yang mempunyai sokongan majoriti di Dewan Rakyat berterusan.

Menyertai Muhyiddin ialah pemimpin PAS Abdul Hadi Awang, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi mewakili Umno dan bekas timbalan presiden PKR Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Semalam Muhyiddin Yassin dilihat bakal mengangkat sumpah sebagai perdana menteri baru berikutan sokongan kepada presiden PPBM itu daripada Barisan Nasional (BN) dan PAS.

Pagi ini, Dr Mahathir Mohamad yang keluar daripada Pakatan Harapan (PH) sebelum ini berpusing arah. Berikutan pertemuan dengan pemimpin bekas gabungan kerajaan itu, beliau menyatakan kesediaan untuk memimpin gabungan baru dengan PH.

Siapakah pilihan Yang di-Pertuan Agong kali ini? Ikuti laman ini dengan laporan langsung kami dari Istana Negara.

1:40 petang: Selepas 10 minit Anwar yang ditemani Fahmi Fadzil kelihatan keluar meninggalkan istana.

Beliau enggan memberi sebarang komen, sebaliknya hanya melambai tangan kepada wakil media.

Keadaan kecoh seketika apabila pengiring Anwar menolak wakil media yang cuba mendekati kenderaan yang dinaiki pemimpin itu sehingga ada yang terjatuh.

Dua pengawal Anwar bertindak keluar kenderaan dan berlari mengejar wakil media sebelum menolak mereka.

1:30 petang: Presiden PKR Anwar Ibrahim dilihat memasuki Istana Negara. Hadir sama ialah pengarah komunikasi parti itu Fahmi Fadzil. Beliau dijangka memaklumkan kepada Agong bahawa PH memutuskan untuk menyokong Dr Mahathir Mohamad sebagai perdana menteri.

1:25 petang: Presiden PKR Anwar Ibrahim meninggalkan Hotel Eastin di Petaling Jaya menuju ke Istana Negara.

12:05 tengah hari: Lim Guan Eng dan Mohamad Sabu meninggalkan Istana Negara selepas menghadap Agong. Turut kelihatan ialah Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Ketika diminta memberi komen, Mohamad dan Guan Eng enggan memberi ulasan.

“Terima kasih”, kata presiden Amanah itu.

Dalam pada itu Dzulkefly berkata, mereka telah menyerahkan “sesuatu” kepada Agong.

“Kita sudah serahkan, doakan,” katanya, dipercayai merujuk kepada borang yang ditandatangani oleh pimpinan PH sebelum memasuki pekarangan istana pagi ini.

11:55 pagi: Satu kumpulan penunggang motosikal cuba menghalang pintu masuk ke Istana Negara sebelum mereka diarah menjauhkan diri dari situ oleh polis.

11:50 pagi: Pemimpin kanan komponen Pakatan Harapan tiba di Istana Negara.

Antara pemimpin yang dilihat ialah setiausaha agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng, naib presiden Amanah Mujahid Yusof, Dzulkefly Ahmad dan Dr Hatta Ramli.

Turut hadir persiden Amanah Mohamad Sabu yang masuk semula ke istana selepas dilihat keluar kira-kira11:30 pagi tadi.

11:30 pagi: Presiden Amanah Mohamad Sabu meninggalkan istana selepas menghadap Agong. Beliau enggan memberi komen apabila disoal, sebaliknya hanya berkata, “Terima kasih”.

10.40 pagi: Setiausaha agung PAS Takiyuddin Hassan memberitahu media bahawa blok itu akan kembali ke istana esok untuk menghadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

10:30 pagi: Muhyiddin Yassin dan rombongan meninggalkan Istana Negara selepas menghadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

10:00 pagi: Blok politik Blok politik yang menyokong Muhyiddin Yassin tiba di Istana Negara dengan mendakwa ia mempunyai sokongan majoriti untuk membentuk kerajaan. Mengiringi Muhyiddin ialah pemimpin PAS Abdul Hadi Awang, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi mewakili Umno, bekas timbalan presiden PKR Mohamed Azmin Ali dan pemimpin GPS Fadilah Yusof..

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Federal Opposition parties Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS have been pressing for a general election to resolve the current political impasse where no political grouping has sufficient numbers for a majority to form government.

But will this method work? And who will it favour?

Following the latest reshuffling over the past few days and new political realignments since the 14th general election (GE14) in May 2018, the current main groupings are Pakatan Harapan (PH) composed of DAP, PKR, Parti Amanah Negara, while Barisan Nasional’s Umno has partnered with PAS to form Muafakat Nasional, and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) is now solo after having left PH.

Some political observers told Malay Mail that the Umno-PAS partnership appears to have the edge in fresh polls, while others noted that there may be no clear winner still, with Sabah and Sarawak parties the potential kingmaker.

A new government with Umno, PAS?

Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow of Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said Umno and PAS could likely emerge as the winners following a general election (GE).

“I think if there is a fresh GE, Umno and PAS plus some minor parties could cobble together a majority coalition to form a government, which was why they have been so gung-ho about calling for new GE these few days. Whether that sort of new GE result is good for a progressive outlook for the country is another matter,” he told Malay Mail.

“I think Umno and PAS’ wins would be so overwhelming that they need but a handful of seats to clinch a majority, so either PPBM or some other minor parties would do,” he said, adding that parties in Sabah and Sarawak are “traditionally prime targets for such coalition building” to form government.

Oh explained that Muafakat Nasional comprising Umno and PAS will mostly benefit from a fresh election, as both parties combined garnered 75 per cent of the Malay votes in GE14.

He said PPBM would “fare rather poorly” in a fresh polls regardless of whether it goes in alone or partners with other parties, saying: “I think if not due to both Umno and PAS both putting up candidates in the last GE, PPBM would not have won most of their seats.”

He said any party that goes up against PAS or Umno in Malay-majority or Malay-dominant seats will not stand a chance to win there.

As for PH, Oh said they will “likely retain those non-Malay, mixed and progressive Malay, urban and suburb seats.”

Umno and PAS have the edge, but final say with Borneo

Research firm Ilham Centre research chief Yusri Ibrahim noted that there would be two main factors at play, namely how the parties team up and the significant role of Sabah and Sarawak parties.

Yusri said the final form of the opposition parties’ coalition was still unclear such as whether they would take on the name of Barisan Nasional, Muafakat Nasional, Perikatan Nasional or Penyatuan Ummah, while also noting that only PH had a solid coalition of PKR, DAP, Amanah but it lacks strong support from Malay voters after PPBM’s pullout.

Yusri said PPBM would not be contesting alone and would either partner BN and PAS or return to PH, adding that PPBM for now appears inclined to join Umno and PAS’ partnership.

“If Umno, PAS and PPBM can seal an official coalition, they have bright prospects of winning seats in the Malay areas. In other words, they have the potential to maintain the existing seats won by Umno, PAS and PPBM before this, and have the chance of wresting several more seats that were previously won by Amanah and PKR,” he said.

Yusri said Sabah and Sarawak parties will potentially be the determining factor of who will form the federal government, noting: “In the current situation, no one can have the guarantee of being in power in Putrajaya without the support of Borneo parties.”

“Peninsular parties’ coalitions whether PH or BN/MN/PN has better chances of winning federal power if there is support from Sabah and Sarawak. This is because those Borneo states have 56 parliamentary seats, that is one quarter from the total 222 Dewan Rakyat members, a very significant number to be the deciding force,” he said, noting that local parties in Sabah and Sarawak previously said they would not officially join the Peninsular-based parties but would work with them as Parti Warisan Sabah did with PH previously.

He also outlined the challenges that Muafakat Nasional may face such as determining the logo to be used in a snap poll, also noting that Umno, PAS and PPBM would have overlapping seats due to their common Malay-Muslim voter base and that the division of seats would be complex and potentially become a big problem if not handled well.

PH without PPBM would, on the other hand, face an easier task of dividing seats to contest in due to their different voter demographics, with PKR contesting in mixed seats, Amanah in Malay-dominant seats and DAP in Chinese- and Indian-majority seats, he said.

When asked who would have the upper hand currently, Yusri said the Opposition parties (regardless of whether PPBM is part of their coalition) have a bit of an “advantage” compared to PH, due to PH’s already low popularity and voter support before the current political crisis as indicated by the coalition’s defeat in five by-elections from Cameron Highlands to Kimanis.

But he also indicated that it would be hard to make further predictions due to the many variables, adding that by-elections may be an indicator but voting patterns would differ during general elections.

He also said PH would benefit if PPBM returns to its fold, but the coalition would still find it hard to regain May 2018 support levels.

With no guarantee of who would emerge as the federal government, Yusri explained PAS and Umno’s insistence on fresh polls: “For them, nothing to lose compared to PH.”

No clear winner?

When asked which political coalition would benefit from fresh polls, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s (Unimas) Arnold Puyok pointed to the fluid political situation.

“I would say it would not be as clear cut as the dynamics on the ground is changing very fast. Most have lost confidence in the ability of PH to govern well and are unsure whether Muafakat Nasional can do any better. A bit difficult for PPBM as it is internally affected by the recent political developments,” he said, agreeing that there may not be a clear winner in a fresh election.

He, said, however that a fresh election “is still better as it gives the opportunity to the warring groups to get fresh mandate from the people.”

What GE15 may look like

When asked if either PH, Muafakat Nasional or PPBM would benefit more from a fresh polls, Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Professor Jayum Jawan noted that they would have to work together in some form to become a government.

“None will get the absolute numbers to form government on their own. Coalition will still be the way and the best approach to govern a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation.

“Now all people are not using their heads wisely… they are guided by personal interest and agenda that cloud their better judgement,” he told Malay Mail.

He added that ultimately the 56 seats from Sabah and Sarawak would be the decisive factor regardless of which coalition PPBM opts to join, pointing out that PPBM, Umno, PAS and PKR are all fighting for the same pool of Malay voters or Malay-majority seats.

“Based on prevailing moods and political climate, I would expect Umno to gain some ground and perhaps PAS too.

“DAP is expected to maintain, Amanah to lose out a bit, while PPBM is not expected to improve against the Umno-Pas pact. Sabah and Sarawak continue to save the day based on whom they support post-GE15. Any party hopeful to form the next government after GE15, make your offer to the two regions,” he said.

If snap polls are called, Jayum said Malay voters are likely to consolidate behind Umno and PAS at the expense of PKR, while Amanah could see its seats reduced due to lack of a “real direction” and concrete offerings to endear themselves to their support base, and DAP may possibly be punished by voters for failure to deliver on many pre-election promises but could also possibly be sustained by ethnic consolidation such as Chinese votes.

“PPBM does not have extensive machinery at grassroots compared to Umno and PAS. Good if it can sustain what they now have,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Gombak MP Mohamed Azmin Ali is believed to be among former PKR MPs who attended a four-hour PPBM meeting chaired by Dr Mahathir Mohamad at Yayasan Al-Bukhary this morning.

A vehicle believed to be ferrying Azmin was seen leaving about the same time as those of other PPBM MPs after the meeting.

When leaving the building, Alor Gajah MP Redzuan Yusof told reporters to wait for a press conference later today.

Bandar Tun Razak MP Kamaruddin Jaafar, one of the 11 MPs who had left PKR, was spotted leaving the building, while Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin and Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Rashid Hasnon were also believed to have been present.

Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Kubang Pasu MP Amiruddin Hamzah, Titiwangsa MP Rina Harun, Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik, Perak Menteri Besar Faizal Azumu and PPBM secretary-general Marzuki Yahya were also seen arriving for the meeting.

The group of 11 former PKR MPs were reportedly set to join PPBM, in what would be a boost for Mahathir as Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs switch loyalties to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

Previously, Redzuan, who is also a PPBM Supreme Council member, had revealed that the party had chosen Muhyiddin to be the country’s eighth prime minister.

Mahathir had announced yesterday that the next head of government would be elected in the Parliament on March 2, as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had found that no one had a clear majority to form the government.

“And because there is no distinct majority, he (the King) says the right forum is the Dewan Rakyat. However, he said if the Dewan Rakyat failed to find a person with a majority, snap elections would be called,” Mahathir said.

However, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Yusof rejected the notice to call for the special sitting on Monday, saying in a statement that it could only be convened after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decides on the formation of a new government.

The Conference of Rulers had also convened a special meeting at Istana Negara today.

It is learnt that the meeting was to discuss the political crisis following the prime minister’s resignation after PPBM pulled out of the ruling coalition.