KUALA LUMPUR – All 114 MPs who backed Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the country’s ninth prime minister did so of their own free will, said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said following an audience with the lawmakers, he was convinced that none of them had been forced to support the Bera MP.
This dispels any speculation that some of the MPs may have been ordered by their respective parties to support Ismail Sabri during the search for a new prime minister last month.
The king had met all 114 MPs on August 19 to confirm their support for Ismail Sabri, after receiving statutory declarations (SDs) on their choice of prime minister.
“In line with the concept of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, I had given the opportunity to all 220 MPs to name, through an SD, a member of the House whom they are giving their confidence to as prime minister.
“Based on the SDs, I found that 114 have expressed support for Ismail Sabri, the MP for Bera,” he said in his royal address when opening the fourth session of the 14th Parliament term in the Dewan Rakyat today.
“After granting audiences to the 114 on August 19, I was satisfied that the support given to Bera is done of their own will, without any coercion. This number is enough to form the new government.”
Istana Negara had, in a statement on August 20, confirmed that Ismail Sabri had the backing of enough MPs to form the government. He was sworn in the next day.
Ismail Sabri replaced Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was forced to resign from the government’s top post after losing majority support of the lower House.
This was following the withdrawal of support from at least a dozen lawmakers from Umno, a component of the previous government led by Muhyiddin.
Other than the 114 MPs who backed Ismail Sabri, 105 lawmakers had supported opposition leader and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as their pick for prime minister.
Only Umno’s Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah did not support any of the two names.
In his speech, the Agong had also acknowledged Muhyiddin’s contribution in leading the country against the health crisis.
“I would like to express my appreciation to Muhyiddin and his line of cabinet members who helmed the country’s administration in facing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.” – The Vibes, September 13, 2021
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