KUALA LUMPUR (The Straitstimes/ANN) - Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's parliamentary majority will not be tested until May 18 at the earliest, after Speaker Ariff Yusof revealed that the sitting originally scheduled for next Monday (March 9) has been pushed back.

He told Malay-language daily Berita Harian that he had just received notification on Tuesday night.

"There is no sitting on March 9. The new date for the opening ceremony of Parliament is May 18, 2020," he was quoted as saying.

Critics and civil society have called on Parliament to convene as soon as possible, after the toppled Pakatan Harapan (PH), led by former premier Mahathir Mohamad claimed to have the backing of up to 114 of the 222 MPs just hours before Tan Sri Muhyiddin was sworn in as Prime Minister on Sunday.

However, with a Cabinet yet to be appointed, there would be no legislative agenda for the March 9 to April 16 sitting earlier planned by the previous government.

Opponents of the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, including Tun Dr Mahathir, have expressed concerns that if Parliament is not convened soon, the new ruling coalition will have time to entice MPs to cross the aisle.