PAKATAN Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed rumours that he would be meeting Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for discussions to form a new government.
It was claimed yesterday (Nov 21) that the UMNO president had called off the party’s emergency Supreme Council meeting to “rush over” to Anwar’s residence to discuss the matter.
In anticipation of Zahid’s rumoured visit, media crews had camped outside Anwar’s home in Kajang. However, the Bagan Datuk MP who won the 15th General Election (GE15) with a razor-thin margin did not show up.
In the recently concluded GE15 on Saturday (Nov 19), none of the three political coalitions won enough seats to form a government on their own, thus resulting in a hung Parliament despite encouraging voter turnout.
PH has the highest number of seats (82, including Muda’s sole seat), followed by Perikatan Nasional/PN (73), BN (30), Gabungan Parti Sarawak/GPS (22) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah/GRS (6).
The coalitions need 112 seats for a simple majority. There are 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat the results of 219 seats already made known.
Anwar – who is also PKR president – had earlier claimed that he had sufficient support to form a government although he remained tight-lipped as to which parties had lent their support.
He reiterated this claim last night when met by reporters at his residence. “I am adamant that we have the majority and we got the support. I am confident that we would be given the opportunity to govern the country,” he was quoted as saying.
But he again declined to go into detail. “We obtained the majority since last night. Let the relevant parties announce who they are in the near future. Be it tonight or tomorrow.”
Yesterday, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said GPS in which he is the president will support a coalition with PN, BN and GRS to form the new federal government.
However, in a twist, Zahid had denied the GPS chairman’s claims, noting that his coalition had never negotiated with GPS on this matter nor had it held any discussions with PN.
In a statement yesterday evening, he said all BN candidates who won at the general election had also signed a pledge and gave him the mandate as the UMNO president to determine any political alliance to establish a government.
He also went on to stress that MPs who defied the directive of the party would have their membership terminated and their seats vacated as stipulated by the anti-hopping law.
To meet or not to meet
However, it is also worth noting that Malaysiakini had reported that PH and BN leaders are expected to meet at the Seri Pacific Hotel in Kuala Lumpur this morning (Nov 21).
Several sources from PH and BN confirmed the 10am meeting with the news portal although they had declined to divulge the purpose of the meeting. “I was told there would be a meeting between PH and BN leaders,” a BN source was reported as telling Malaysiakini.
However, a PH source downplayed the gravity of the meeting. “It’s not official, just a regular meeting. It is not wrong if [PH] and BN meet to exchange views after the tiring campaign period,” added the source.
The meeting is set to take place four hours before the 2pm deadline set by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for prospective prime minister candidates to prove that they have a majority. – Nov 21, 2022
