As Reuters reported on 5 July 2021, the government agreed to a
special parliament sitting of five days, starting on 26 July 2021.
Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Until recently, Malaysia was one of the very few, if not the only democracy in the world, where emergency measures also meant a suspension of parliamentary meetings. The last meeting was in December 2020. When the king finally
declared that the state of emergency would not be extended (Reuters, 16 June 2021), he twice had to repeat that this also meant a swift recalling of parliament. These calls have finally been heard and it remains to be seen if meaningful debate can take place and whether the government still holds a majority or not."
Thomas Muller continues: "Almost immediately after the king"s announcement, the biggest party, UMNO, said it would
withdraw its support for the government, a move which was apparently not shared by its ministers and members of parliament, revealing that the party is effectively split (Malay Mail, 8 July 2021). This led a commentator to state that Malaysian politicians are "˜
losing the plot", as voters are not just confused, but have given up expecting any results from political debate at all (Channel News Asia, 9 July 2021). In such a heated and difficult political environment, made even more complicated by a surge in COVID-19 cases, it is likely that politicians will concentrate on "˜identity politics" more than ever, at the expense of ethnic and religious minorities, like Christians. Especially in the run-up to the 2023 elections,‚ politics will probably have an "˜us against them" focus and appeal to the Malay middle class"s fear of losing its privileged position."
