AS Malaysia enters its fourth day post-GE15 (15th General Election), there is little light or no light at all envisaged as to who exactly is going to spearhead the quest to lift the country up from its economic turmoil (ringgit depreciation, spiralling inflation, dismal food security prospect and huge national debts, to name a few ills).
First thing first, the impasse over the appointment of the country’s 10th prime minister (PM) remains unsettled – and will likely not be settled anytime soon – even as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has decreed yesterday (Nov 22) evening to meet each and every one of the 30 Barisan Nasional’s (BN) future MPs at 10.30am today (Nov 23).
It seems that the coalition which came in third in terms of the number of seats – after Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) 82 and Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) 73 – is very likely to buy time for it has yet to firm up on which coalition to support to form Malaysia’s next federal government.
Henceforth, the coalition which has performed its worst in its 65-year-old history in GE15 will seek the consent of Sultan Abdullah to postpone the audience he had granted the 30 BN representatives.
Describing that the coalition is in a “cooling period”, Sabah BN chief Datuk Seri Bung Mokhtar Radin said the coalition has yet to make a decision.
“We will still seek an audience with the King (tomorrow). However, we still need a bit of time to think,” he was quoted by the New Straits Times (NST) as saying after the BN supreme council met in a one-hour meeting last night (Nov 22).
“We (only) have 30 MPs, we cannot be in a rush. We’ll inform the King (of our choices) when he asks (tomorrow).”
However, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) deputy president Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup said the coalition will issue a statement to seek more time before seeking an audience with the King.
“We will decide after we finish the negotiations (as it is not yet finished). We will seek for more time to seek an audience with the King and we will issue a statement on it.”
Echoing Kurup, MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said BN has requested to delay the audience with the King as the party still needs time to decide.
“We need to check a few matters in detail before deciding on anything. This is why we are requesting the palace to postpone the audience with the YDPA,” he said.
MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon said BN stands firm on the decision it made yesterday (Nov 22) that its supreme council has decided not to support any coalition to form the federal government.
“So, it is up to the chairman (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) to convey the matter to the King.”
While the ball in now in BN’s court to convey the desires of its 30 future MPs to delay their audience with Sultan Abdullah, one thing which is certain is that none of them is supporting PN’s chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to be Malaysia’s 10th PM.
“Our MPs are not supporting Muhyiddin’s candidacy as PM. This has been conveyed to the YDPA,” BN’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir was cited by The Star as saying.
However, Zambry did not specify if the statement to the King did mention if BN would have a post-electoral cooperation with PH or otherwise. – Nov 23, 2022
