By Doreenn Leong
MANY Malaysian voters were frustrated when a new coalition took over the administration of the country, forming a backdoor government. They view the new government with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin being sworn in as the eighth prime minister as one without the mandate of the people.
In the 14th general elections (GE14) in May 2018, Pakatan Harapan (PH) managed to wrest control of the government with a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat with 121 Parliamentary seats while the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which had been ruling the country since 1967, only had 79 seats and PAS with 18 seats.
The new Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition party, which was formed between Umno, PAS, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) as well as Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), has managed to gain control of Johor and Melaka. Will more states fall into the hands of PN?
Political analysts expect Perak and Kedah to be the next states to fall as these states are in a precarious position due to the marginal differences in seats.
Kedah, the home state of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is the most vulnerable after Bersatu pulled out from PH, leaving the state in a minority position.
After GE14, PH managed to obtain a simple majority of 19 seats out of the total 36 seats. However, with the recent changes in party alliances, it is now left with 13 seats while PAS and BN collectively have 17 seats. If all six seats under Bersatu join PAS and BN, the PN coalition would have 23 seats.
Mahathir’s son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, is the Kedah Menteri Besar, despite his party commanding only six seats in the 36-member state assembly.
While Bersatu was part of PH, the coalition held a two-seat majority, allowing it to form the state government. Without Bersatu’s six seats, it will be unable to form the state government on its own.
For Mukhriz to remain in power, Bersatu must either reconcile with its former PH partners and carry on with a two-seat majority, or link up with PAS and BN, for a commanding 23-13 hold of the state assembly.
In Perak, PH had 30 seats while BN and PAS had 28 seats collectively after GE14. With the recent change in party alliances, PN has the upper hand with 31 seats, including Bersatu’s two seats, while PH is left with 28.
However, Bersatu’s two seats in the state enable it to determine who will hold a majority and thus form the state government.
Recent states to fall were Melaka and Johor. The Melaka government has fallen after two PH assemblymen switched sides to PN. Melaka DAP’s Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee and PKR’s Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis announced that they now support PN, although the latter recently claimed that he had never declared he was leaving PKR.
In Johor, a new coalition will form the new state government after Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar is satisfied that the coalition has secured a simple majority in the state assembly. BN and Bersatu have 28 seats collectively versus PH which was left with 26 seats.
Meanwhile, PH has a stronghold in the two richest states in the peninsula – Selangor and Penang – where PAS, BN and Bersatu have only a tiny presence.
The PKR-run Selangor government has a commanding 44-6 advantage over the BN-PAS total, while Bersatu has six seats.
Similarly, in Penang, the PH state government commands 35 seats to just four held by BN and PAS while Bersatu has one seat in the state assembly.
In Sabah, Parti Warisan Sabah is said to be in firm control of the state government. The party’s deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking said Warisan and its partners Upko, DAP and PKR were continuing to go about their tasks in the state administration and to serve the people under their mandate with their 48 seats in the 65-member state assembly. Warisan currently has 33 assemblymen, DAP (seven), Upko (five) and PKR (three).
Many reckon it would be a difficult task for the state opposition to muster a defection of at least 16 to 18 assemblymen from the ruling state government in Sabah. – March 5, 2020
