DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim will become the country’s 10th prime minister, following five days of political turmoil as a result of a hung Parliament and subsequent political horse-trading.
This was confirmed by the National Palace in a statement this afternoon, which added that the 75-year-old Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief will be sworn in to hold the country’s top office at 5pm today.
The decision follows the conclusion of a special Conference of Rulers meeting Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah had with the other state rulers earlier today.
According to comptroller of the royal household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, Sultan Abdullah wanted to get his fellow rulers’ views so that he, as monarch, could make the “best decision” for the country and its people.
“The aforementioned process (was carried out) so that His Majesty can make a decision on appointing an MP, who, in his view, has the trust of the majority of parliamentarians to become PM, in line with Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
“After fine-tuning the views of the Conference of Rulers, His Majesty has consented to appoint Anwar (the incoming Tambun MP) as the 10th PM of Malaysia,” Ahmad Fadil said.
Ahmad Fadil’s statement did not mention the number of soon-to-be-sworn-in-MPs who backed the PKR president, the names of political parties or coalitions backing PH or how Anwar’s government will be made up.
However, the Conference of Rulers “continues to support” Sultan Abdullah’s view that the formation of a stable government must be “hastened” through a “prudent, observant and deeply-observed” process following Saturday’s (Nov 19) 15th General Elections (GE15).
Although PH won the most number of seats in GE15 (82) – followed by Perikatan Nasional/PN (73), Barisan Nasional/BN (30) and “kingmaker” Gabungan Parti Sarawak/GPS (22) – no single party or coalition wrested 112 seats for a simple majority, leading to intense internal talks to form a post-election pact and all parties coming together for the sake of forming a government.
Despite earlier being noncommital or stating otherwise, all major political pacts have agreed to work together to form a unity government. However, details are still scant about the composition of the new government and who will be in the opposition (if at all there will be one).
In calling for all future federal lawmakers to work together irrespective of differences, Sultan Abdullah reminded them that “those who win do not win everything” and “those who lose do not lose everything”.
Meanwhile, Sultan Abdullah advised Anwar and the incoming government to be like a stalk of paddy; the more grains of rice grow on it, the lower it bows.
“The reality is that the rakyat should not be burdened by never-ending political turmoil,” said Ahmad Fadil. “The country needs a stable government to boost the economic landscape and national development.”
For a man who was sacked as deputy PM in the late 1990s, accused of multiple sodomy allegations and eventually sent to jail upon being convicted, served two decades as Opposition leader, made a grand political comeback after receiving a royal pardon, promised to be appointed as PM but had his dreams foiled after the PH Government fell in 2020 – finally being PM is surely a sweet victory for Anwar. – Nov 24, 2022
