Malaysia gov't: Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim says has majority to form new government
Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday that he had won a "strong majority" from the lawmakers seven months after grabbing power within the ruling coalition to power the administration elected in May 2018.
Malaysia’s Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim announced on Wednesday (Sep 23) that he has garnered a "strong, formidable, convincing majority" of Members of Parliament (MPs) to form a new government.
Anwar said he had been “approached by a number of MPs from various parties” who were unhappy with the existing leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president said in a press conference that as such, the current government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has fallen.
Sitting next to his wife, Anwar told a news conference his support from lawmakers “means that the administration of Muhyiddin has fallen” and insisted that his government had the mandate of the people.
He declined to reveal the numbers backing him, but said he would do so after seeking an audience with the king, who is currently receiving treatment at the national heart hospital in Kuala Lumpur.
He emerged as the Prime Minister of Malaysia in March, after a week of political upheaval when several disgruntled members of the then ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition joined forces with parties that lost power in 2018. The move led to the resignation of 95-year-old Mahathir Mohammed as Prime Minister.
Anwar said Muhyiddin government, and its “70 ministers”, had spent too much time “distributing positions, appointments and contracts in order to cling to (an) extremely bare and razor-thin majority.”Even within the opposition ranks, Anwar’s support does not seem assured. Local media reported that while Amanah, an Islamic party, was backing Anwar, Mahathir’s new party was not.
Senior politicians in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which returned to power with Muhyiddin, described Anwar’s move as a “gimmick” while former ally turned rival Mohamed Azmin Ali, who led the power grab that ended Pakatan Harapan’s administration and is now Minister of International Trade and Industry, tweeted: “Incorrigible liar and political psychopath.”
Bridget Welsh, an honorary research associate at the University of Nottingham’s Asia Research Institute and an expert on Malaysian politics, said right now the situation was a “war of words” and Anwar would need to show the numbers.
Campaigning is currently underway in Malaysia’s Borneo state of Sabah where Muhyiddin’s coalition is hoping to wrest control of the state government from an administration friendly to the opposition.
The state has also emerged as a new hotspot for the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, with people confirmed to have the virus told they will not be able to vote.
“The people of Malaysia deserve leadership which can navigate effectively during these turbulent times,” Anwar said in a statement. “Instead we have an unstable government whose inability to handle the crisis is driving the country towards an economic recession and rising racial tension.”
Mr Muhyiddin was scheduled to give a live address at 2.30pm on Wednesday.
In an apparent response to Mr Anwar's announcement, Minister for Science and Technology Khairy Jamaluddin tweeted a photo of a Cabinet meeting around noon. "Just finished Cabinet ministers' meeting. Nothing has toppled or fallen," he said.
