Malaysian PM Muhyiddin to address nation on Tuesday

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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 - Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will address the nation at 1230 local time he said in a social media post, after a key allies withdrew support for the government and after calls for him to step down.

Muhyiddin is under mounting pressure to quit after last week the Malaysia's King issued a rare rebuke of a government decision to revoke emergency laws without his approval, an act the palace said ran counter to the Constitution.

Some allies have accused Muhyiddin of treason, while opposition lawmakers have urged him to step down for disrespecting the King. Malaysia is a multiethnic monarchy and the king is revered across the nation's constitutional population.

Muhyiddin has led a razor-thin majority and governed an unstable coalition since coming to power in March 2020.

On Wednesday, the United Malays National Organization Party, the biggest bloc in Muhyiddin's ruling alliance, withdrew support for him and said he lost legitimacy to govern.

The party is split over its support for Muhyiddin, however. Last month, UMNO said that it had pulled its support for Muhyiddin but its cabinet ministers did not quit.