Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and his colleague Muhyiddin Yassin each insist they have support for the leadership as uncertainty continues.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin each said they had enough support among lawmakers to form a new government after a disputed election at the weekend failed to end the political uncertainty that has gripped the Southeast Asian nation in recent years.
Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition came out on top in Saturday’s election with 82 seats, and announced shortly after that the coalition had a commanding lead.
Throughout Sunday, he refused to divulge details of PH supporters and urged Malaysians to be patient after being interrupted by local media last night.
Muhyiddin earlier said his coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN), which came second with 73 seats and is controlled by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), had discussed with other parliamentarians to form a government, and share a picture on social issues. The conference media is one of Borneo’s leaders who need help.
A party or coalition must get a majority of 112 seats in the parliament to form a government. Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy has set a deadline of 2pm (06:00 GMT) for politicians to submit their proposals to the palace.
Sorry for the wait my friends. I hope everyone will be patient and pray for the good of the world. pic.twitter.com/J1UhCNh15C
– Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) November 20, 2022
[Translation: I’m sorry for the long wait friends. I hope everyone can be patient and pray for the best for the country.]
Anwar did not reveal the details of the parties that could join PH in the state, but the alliance must unite with Barisan Nasional (BN), which won 30 seats, to form the government.
Muhyiddin needs the support of the Borneo parties and BN to have more MPs.
In a statement released on Sunday, Abang Johari Openg, a Sarawakian leader, said the Borneo and BN parties had agreed to support Muhyiddin.
“They often blame independence and the distribution of power,” political analyst Oh Ei Sun said of Borneo’s leaders. “On the other hand, I think that when it comes to the political calculations of the alliance to join it depends more on the political interests there than on the lives and lives of the people.”
BN position also complicates calculations.
After Abang’s statement, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and BN leader, said in his speech that the alliance was not part of the agreement. He reminded the union members of the agreement they had made to support their decision.
Zahid is under intense pressure from UMNO to resign after BN’s poor performance in the election which they believe forced Prime Minister Ismail Sabri to call. Zahid is also on trial for corruption, and polls show he is unpopular with Malaysians.
Malaysia has been grappling with political instability since PH won the 2018 election, ousting BN for the first time since Malaysia’s independence amid anger over multibillion-dollar corruption scandals surrounding state fund 1MDB.
PH ruled for several years while being pushed by some of the Malay nationalists, but the coalition collapsed after an internal power grab in February 2020.
This led to Muhyiddin, who was one of the defectors from PH, being named prime minister with the support of BN.
Political infighting continued as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, and Muhyiddin was replaced by Ismail Sabri a year later.
Official figures from Saturday’s election show the number of Malaysians who cast their votes, with PH getting 5.81 million, PN 4.67 million and BN 3.43 million. The number of elections was increased after changes in the electoral law to give 18-year-olds the right to vote and automatic voter registration, which increased the uncertainty of the outcome.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with a Malay Muslim majority and significant ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, as well as Indians.
PAS’s rise in the polls surprised many and has raised concerns about the future of Malaysia in a country that has been divided by race and religion.
