PERIKATAN Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) have agreed to come together as a bloc and form a coalition government.
This effectively means Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s long-held ambition to become prime minister (PM) has been foiled once more, and the coalition will remain in the opposition again.
In a statement this evening, GPS chairman Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg – whose coalition is the kingmaker for yesterday’s (Nov 19) 15th General Elections (GE15) – noted that no single party won a simple majority to form a government, leading to a hung Parliament.
Abang Johari, who is also Sarawak premier, said Malaysia and the world at large are facing economic crises now, and the situation is only expected to worsen next year.
“To ensure that the welfare of the people is ensured and the country’s economy is protected, a stable and strong government has to be formed at once.
“That is why GPS has (decided to form a coalition government) to strengthen and stablilise the country,” he said.
Together, the bloc has 131 seats (PN/73; BN/30; GPS/22 and; GRS/6) – way more than enough to form a simple 112-seat majority in the Dewan Rakyat. PH and ally MUDA won 82 seats in GE15.
In a press conference in Kuching, Sarawak, Abang Johari said the coalition government’s pact was based on a number of principles, all to do with the special rights and position of the East Malaysian states.
They are:
- To strengthen Malaysia’s Federal Constitution and Sarawak’s constitution as well as the rule of law as stipulated in the Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) and Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report 1962;
- To uphold the right to freedom of religion and practice diverse customs and cultures in Sarawak, as provided for in the Federal Constitution, MA63 and IGC Report;
- To have autonomy over the planning and development of education and health, and;
- Other areas that have Sarawak interests.
Meanwhile, PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Abang Johari and GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor have given their assurances that soon-to-be-sworn-in GPS and GRS MPs will support Muhyiddin to become PM once more.
“As PN chairman, I am confident that I will be able to get sufficient support from MPs to allow me to be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the 10th PM (of Malaysia), as required by the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement.
The PN-BN-GPS-GRS bloc has until 2pm tomorrow (Nov 21) to update the National Palace about their new coalition and PM candidate.
Anwar last night said PH has the numbers to form a government – an infamous claim he made numerous times after the Sheraton Move of 2020 that turned out to be untrue in the end as Muhyiddin was appointed as prime minister instead.
This time, Anwar reiterated that there were more than 111 soon-to-be-sworn-in MPs supporting the coalition (and effectively, the PKR president’s mission to hold the country’s top office), claiming it would be a majority government. – Nov 20, 2022
