KUALA LUMPUR :Chairman of the UMNO Advisory Council, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, claimed that the declaration of emergency would worsen the already deteriorating Malaysian economy.

According to Tengku Razaleigh, he was not questioning the right of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to apply for the declaration from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

On the other hand, the Gua Musang Member of Parliament is of the view that there is no "honest reason" for the government to apply for the declaration of emergency.

“If the Prime Minister succeeds in implementing the proposed emergency order, I as an economist and former Minister of Finance, former Minister of International Trade and Industry (and former Chairman of the World Bank and IMF), can assert it could worsen our already deteriorating economic situation.

"Local and foreign investors will avoid us completely. Business confidence will be destroyed," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Tengku Razaleigh also explained that he had reason to believe that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet no longer had a majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

"My initiative with the Speaker of the House of Representatives should not be seen as for my own benefit or I have an interest in the post of Prime Minister, but to defend the principles of our Parliamentary system," he said.

Earlier, Tengku Razaleigh's office revealed his letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, asking for a motion of no-confidence against the prime minister to be given priority at the next sitting.