By Yee Mei
KUCHING, Nov 22: The wait continues as Istana Negara has yet to decide on who will be Malaysia’s 10th prime minister.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this in a press conference after his audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in KL today.
“His Highness expressed his desire to form a strong government that is more inclusive in terms of race, religion, and region so that it would allow the government to focus on resolving the problems of the rakyat and resuscitate the economy,” he said.
He also added that there was no timeline given for the process.
When asked about the possibility of forming a minority government, Anwar said there is no question about it.
“No timeline, because it’s (the appointment of PM) at the sole discretion of the Agong,” he said, even quipping that there was a “vacancy” for the prime minister post, which is “open for application”.
Asked about the Agong’s mandate to form a unity government, he said His Highness had consistently wanted unity among Malaysians.
“Agong has been consistently urging Malaysians to unite, even when (Dato Seri) Ismail Sabri (Yaakob) was appointed and previously, (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin (Yassin), but they had failed to do that.
“Unlike them, I will respect and follow (the Agong’s wish),” he said.
Earlier at 4.30pm, Anwar and Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were summoned by the King to Istana Negara as no candidate held the confidence of the majority following the general election.
This political conundrum came about following the conclusion of the 15th General Election (GE15), whereby no coalition was able to secure a simple majority to form the next federal government, leading to a hung parliament. — DayakDaily
