In this file photo, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrives to unveil his new cabinet members at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya on March 9, 2020. (MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will not face a confidence vote on May 18 as earlier scheduled, the speaker of parliament said on Wednesday after the government cited the battle against the coronavirus as a priority.

His predecessor, 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad who resigned in February after his coalition collapsed due to political wrangling, denounced the decision as a possible sign of Muhyiddin lacking a parliamentary majority.

ALSO READ: A weakened Mahathir seeks to challenge Malaysia's new leaderPeople close to the ruling coalition, however, said they had a majority among the 222 elected members of parliament.

It looks like there is an attempt to block me from even speaking as a member of parliament.

Mahathir Mohamad, former Malaysian prime minister

Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof last week approved a motion brought by Mahathir seeking a vote of no confidence in Muhyiddin’s leadership.

But, in a statement, the speaker said Muhyiddin later told him the government had decided to list only a single order of parliamentary business for the one-day sitting, the opening address by the king, “as the COVID-19 pandemic has not been fully cleared”.

Malaysia has so far reported 6,779 coronavirus patients, with 111 dead.

The Southeast Asian country has not held any parliamentary session this year.

But, in a statement, the speaker said Muhyiddin later told him the government had decided to list only a single order of parliamentary business for the one-day sitting, the opening address by the king, “as the COVID-19 pandemic has not been fully cleared”.

Malaysia has so far reported 6,779 coronavirus patients, with 111 dead.

The Southeast Asian country has not held any parliamentary session this year.

ALSO READ: Malaysian PM calls on Mahathir to endorse new govt

“Parliament is not allowed to convene, which means Muhyiddin does not have majority support,” Mahathir, once the world’s oldest head of government, said in a video message on Facebook.

“It looks like there is an attempt to block me from even speaking as a member of parliament.”

The next session of parliament has been set for July 13 to Aug 27 but no date has been given for a confidence vote.

READ MORE: DOJ: US reaches settlement to recover over US$49m involving 1MDB

A spokesman for the prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Muhyiddin, who served as the home minister under Mahathir, was unexpectedly sworn in on March 1 as the head of a government formed with the support of a corruption-ridden party that was defeated by a multi-ethnic coalition in the last general election in 2018.