Malaysia polls: Anwar and Muhyiddin locked in battle to form next govt
Malaysia’s two biggest political rivals both claimed they had enough support to form a government on Sunday morning, the day after an election that failed to deliver a simple majority.
Anwar Ibrahim said his Pakatan Harapan political coalition had won a simple majority to form a government despite only winning 75 of the 222 seats in Parliament (that figure had risen to 82 at press time). More than 112 seats are needed for a simple majority.
Anwar stopped short of revealing which party or parties Pakatan would be allying with.
Anwar’s rival, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, countered that his Perikatan Nasional coalition had secured enough support to form a government after winning 73 seats.
Anwar rejected that claim, saying, "We, Pakatan, have formed the biggest bloc in the parliament with Muda and also we have to recognise the fact that no party has obtained a simple majority.
"We, therefore, have conducted a series of meetings and negotiations and as a result, I wish to inform you that as the majority bloc, we have managed to get the support of MPs to form the government with a simple majority.”
"Subject to, of course, the normal process, which is to submit to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong [king].
"We have all the documents ready," said Anwar in a press conference at a hotel in Subang early on Sunday.
Anwar added that it was not proper to reveal if the party Pakatan could potentially form an alliance with is a national party. "I'm not absolutely certain if we have the numbers.”
Anwar also refused to comment on the possibility that Barisan had approached Perikatan to form the next government. The Barisan coalition won 30 seats.
"I'm not entertaining rumours, I'm discussing facts. Rumours, you can ask Muhyiddin," added Anwar.
Anwar reiterated that Pakatan has a strong stance against corruption and a commitment to good governance.
"We went to the elections with a principle to ensure this country does not condone corruption, to strengthen good governance and focus on economic issues," added Anwar.
Results from the Election Commission on Sunday showed Pakatan Harapan won 82 seats, followed by Perikatan on 73, Barisan (30), GPS (22), GRS (six), Warisan (three), and PBM (one). One seat was unannounced as of 5am. Elections were not held for two seats.
The Star/The Nation
Asia News Network
