Malaysia's king summons political leaders amid public anger

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's king is set to have an audience with political parties beginning Wednesday, amid public anger over the state of emergency that has failed to contain the Covid outbreak.

The head of the Democratic Action Party will meet with the king on Wednesday afternoon, Anthony Loke, the opposition party's national secretary, said in a Facebook post. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad will have a separate session with the monarch Thursday, Bernama reported, citing a party leader.

Malaysia's already elevated political risks have worsened due to "widespread and growing dissatisfaction" over the government's handling of the pandemic, 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.

Still, the emergency didn't help to contain the outbreak. Malaysia returned to a hard lockdown this month after daily infections topped a record 9,000 by end-May, straining the resources of the nation's hospitals. The worsening outbreak has prompted calls for Parliament to reconvene. Malaysia on Friday said it was studying the possibility of allowing lawmakers to participate online.

After staying in the background of national politics for decades, Malaysia's monarch began moving centre stage last year to fill a vacuum created following the abrupt resignation of Mr Mahathir as premier. The king resolved a week-long impasse by tapping Mr Muhyiddin to become prime minister without a parliamentary vote. Opposition leaders had sought meetings with the king while vying for power.

BLOOMBERG