The largest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition threatened to pull out unless it gets better terms, adding pressure on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to shore up his unstable government or call a snap election.
The United Malays National Organization, which holds about a third of the seats in Muhyiddin’s 12-party government, said in a statement late Tuesday that it would enter talks with him to stay in the bloc. It also suggested formalizing an alliance with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which would unify the largest Malay-Muslim political organizations.
Separately, Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama cited a top party official saying that UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is scheduled to have an audience with the king at 5 p.m. on Thursday.