MALAYSIA’S political turmoil enters its eighth day on March 1. FocusM brings you live updates on the matter. Today, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was appointed the eighth PM at 10.43am by the King. Meantime, Pakatan Harapan under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad claims it has the majority with 114 seats.

Latest:

8.09pm: Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow states that “We have lost federal power, but we have not given up,” according to Malaysiakini.

The Pakatan Harapan national leadership and MPs group will mount legal, parliamentary and constitutional challenges against the appointment of Muhyiddin as the new prime minister, he adds.

7.34pm: Over 100 protesters have gathered in front of Sogo KL, with former Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and Amanah Youth deputy chief Faiz Fadzil also attending the protest, according to Malaysiakini.

7.24pm: “Our government was stolen,” says PKR Parliamentary Whip Datuk Johari Abdul, but says it is not over, claiming that “they do not have enough numbers,” according to a clip on TheStarTV. Pakatan Harapan is urging the Speaker of Parliament to call a special session at the earliest, to show who actually has the numbers.

Johari also says a police report will be made about “Muhyiddin lying to the Malay rulers.” He also hopes that the King will thus make the decision to call for a general election.

7.08pm: Mahathir, in a closed-door briefing for his Bersatu supporters, blames Muhyiddin and Anwar for his failure to form the new government, according to Malaysiakini. He calls Muhyiddin a traitor, and maintains his stance that Bersatu should not work with Umno, and is upset about Muhyiddin’s decision to do so. He also blames Anwar for Harapan’s switch in support after Mahathir refused to restore the previous Harapan government and wanted a new government that did not follow party lines.

“I am saddened because I lost because he (Anwar) asked Harapan to name him as prime minister. If not, I would have had 92 votes and I already had 60 votes, I would have the majority.

“But because he asked to become the prime minister candidate even though he didn’t have the numbers… People like that believe in things that are not real,” he says.

6.47pm: PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said there was no need to convene a special sitting of Parliament as PM Muhyiddin has the support of the majority of Dewan Rakyat members.

5.45pm: PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang says he supports Muhyiddin as the 8th PM. In a press conference, he says focus is on rebuilding the country and ensure unity among the races.

5.00pm: Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Fahmi Visuvanathan Abdullah advises members of the public not to attend the protest scheduled to take place in front of Sogo on Sunday evening (March 1). He says no notices had been submitted for the rally.

4.15pm: PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has assured that the party remains intact despite the exit of 11 MPs, reports The Star.

“The party is intact. All the 39 MPs were here, state assemblymen and the entire leadership. Of course they expressed remorse because they were not privy to some of the backdoor deals undertaken by some leaders in the party.

“They felt betrayed,” Anwar told reporters at PKR’s headquarters in Merchant Square.

4.05pm: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulates Muhyiddin on being sworn in as the 8th PM of Malaysia. “I am confident  Singapore’s long-standing & multi-faceted relationship with Malaysia will grow under his leadership, and benefit both our peoples,” he says.

Spoke to Tan Sri @MuhyiddinYassin to congratulate him on being sworn in as the 8th PM of Malaysia. I am confident Singapore’s long-standing & multi-faceted relationship with Malaysia will grow under his leadership, and benefit both our peoples. – LHL https://t.co/vHmAI51a8U

— Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) March 1, 2020

3.00pm: Pakatan Harapan said in a statement it will put to vote the confidence in PM Muhyiddin on March 9. It also announced the appointment of Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as the party’s new secretary-general.

2.40pm: The King’s decision can be challenged in court if Harapan can show that it had a clear majority at the relevant time, according to former law professor and constitutional expert Gurdial Singh Nijar.

“At any time, even before the elections or the convening of Parliament, they can give a list and challenge the basis on which the King appointed the prime minister. This is justiciable (can be decided by the courts),” he explained to FocusM.

Alternatively, he said, Harapan can go at any time to the King to show that the prime minister does not have the majority in Parliament. If they can show that, then the King can appoint a new government under Mahathir.

Gurdial offered the example of the Perak state assembly in 2009 when the then state government fell after three assemblymen crossed over to Barisan Nasional (BN) from the then Pakatan Rakyat coalition which had defeated BN in the state in 2008. The Sultan then went ahead and ruled that the majority of the government was lost after the assemblymen defected. 

According to Wikipedia, the Sultan of Perak then refused Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s request to dissolve the state assembly and call for new elections. Instead, BN with support from the three defecting assemblymen formed the new state government.

The BN state government’s legitimacy and the Sultan’s decision not to dissolve the state assembly was disputed vehemently by Pakatan Rakyat politicians. A series of battles in the courts ensued between Nizar and the new Menteri Besar (Chief Minister), Zambry Abdul Kadir. Ultimately, the Federal Court confirmed in February 2010 that Zambry was the lawful menteri besar, Wikipedia stated.

1.18pm: Bersatu will sack Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Syed Saddiq, reports the Star. Bersatu supreme council member Datuk Seri Redzuan said the duo will have to face the party’s disciplinary committee. He was also reported as saying that Syed Saddiq’s position as youth chief would probably be made redundant. Redzuan also said he would propose that Muzzammil Ismail, the party’s exco member, take over as its youth chief as he has “huge potential”.

Redzuan also noted that its secretary-general Datuk Marzuki Yahaya would also perhaps be replaced for violating party discipline. He added that as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed had resigned as the party’s chairman, thus, under the party’s constitution, he needs to be re-elected according to the party’s election process. “There is no issue that Dr Mahathir is the party’s chairman because he has resigned. In the (party’s) constitution, a person who has quit or is dismissed can come back to nominate themselves according to the party’s election process. “Whatever announcement made by the secretary-general is against the party, and I advise the secretary-general to stop issuing statements that could confuse party members and the public,” Redzuan was quoted as saying.

12.45pm: Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa says, “The grey clouds have passed and now we have clear skies.”

11.22 am: The country is now under the newly-formed Perikatan Nasional administration.

11.12am: Former Minister of Economic Affairs and Gombak MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali welcomes the appointment of Muhyiddin as PM. “We are committed to the national agenda to drive economic resilience, achieve mutual prosperity, safeguard national security and sovereignty, strengthen people’s unity and enable institutional reform,” he says.

10.55am: With Muhyiddin’s installation as the eighth PM, any move to remove the current government is dependent on a vote of no confidence in Parliament against him as PM. In that event, the Constitution provides that the PM has to resign or to advise the dissolution of Parliament to the King who is obliged to do so. In the latter event, elections will have to be called.

Mahathir said in an earlier press conference that the convening of Parliament, scheduled for March 9, can be delayed, but it is not clear right now how this can be done. Any undue delay in convening Parliament will be seen as frustrating the democratic process.

10.43am: Muhyiddin has been installed as the eighth PM by the King.

10.20am: Mahathir says he expects to be expelled from Bersatu, the party he formed in 2016, as the majority of its members have rejected him as chairman.

10.15am: Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal and Sri Aman MP Datuk Masir Kujat have denied supporting Mahathir, Malaysiakini reports. The two MPs’ denial brings the number of lawmakers backing Mahathir down to 113. The original list did not include PKR’s Hulu Selangor MP June Leow. This was rectified at 11.49pm, according to Malaysiakini.

10am: Muhyiddin and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang are already in the palace.

9.45am: Muhyiddin leaves his house to the palace for the swearing-in.

9.36am: Mahathir says he had no choice but to resign as Muhyiddin wanted to work en bloc with Umno and that was something he could not accept.

9.29am: The next move is a vote of no confidence. But they can delay the sitting of Parliament, Mahathir says. Mahathir’s faction to seek urgent sitting of Parliament to show that he has majority support.

9:10am: Mahathir Mohamad says the King has not agreed to see him and will not change his decision. “We will push for an early meeting of Parliament,” he says. “We have 114 but not recognised as the leader.”