KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s head of state the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today had an audience with the country’s political party leaders, to find a successor to Muhyiddin Yassin who quit as prime minister on Monday.
The two-hour audience that commenced at 2 pm saw leaders of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition component parties arriving at Istana Negara (National Palace).
Among the party presidents present were Anwar Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), Mohd Shafie Apdal of Parti Warisan Sabah(Warisan), Mukhriz Mahathir (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air) and Mohamad Sabu Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
Also present was Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, the deputy president of Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Lim Guan Eng the Secretary General of Democratic Action Party (DAP). The political leaders from the state of Sarawak joined the audience virtually.
Speaking to reporters after the audience, Anwar said the Agong called the political leaders to work together to adress the COVID-19 and economic crises.
“The issue discussed was not just on the appointment of a new prime minister. The Agong and the deputy Agong also backed a new form of politics that is more harmonious for the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Dewan Rakyat (Lower House of Parliament) through a notice has requested the elected members of the legislative assembly to submit a statutory declaration nominating a name to be appointed as the country’s 9th Prime Minister.
The statutory declarations must be submitted to Istana Negara by 4 pm Wednesday at the latest or will not be taken into account. All MPs also reminded to maintain the confidentiality of their statutory declarations until the Yang di-Pertuan Agong made a decision
Muhyiddin, who led the PN coalition, was sworn in as the country’s eighth prime minister on March 1, 2020 following the resignation of then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Feb 24 that ended the rule of another coalition, PH.
However, things came to a head for Muhyiddin’s fragile coalition recently after UMNO, one of the key partners of PN, withdrew its support for him and PN, leaving the coalition without a clear majority.
Al-Sultan Abdullah accepted Muhyiddin’s resignation as prime minister and that of the entire Cabinet on Monday. His Majesty also consented to appoint Muhyiddin to serve as a caretaker prime minister pending the appointment of a new prime minister.
— NNN-BERNAMA
