KUALA LUMPUR – The deadline to submit a prime minister candidate and coalitions to form the federal government has been pushed to 2pm tomorrow, allowing leaders more time to finalise their negotiations as no single coalition has a simple majority.
Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin reiterated in a statement that all political parties and coalition leaders must notify Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun of their decisions before tomorrow’s deadline.
He also cited the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as saying that the current caretaker government is still under the care of the caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Fadil also said that the king has called for calm and patience in Malaysia while the process of forming a government takes place.
At the time of writing, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaderships have held meetings at the Seri Pacific Hotel here.
Earlier today, BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stressed that the coalition will decide based on a consensus and any other statement by individual lawmakers voicing their support for any other coalition is invalid.
Similarly, Perikatan Nasional (PN) also announced that it has submitted to Istana Negara the statutory declarations from MPs supporting its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.
The race to Putrajaya remains open as no coalition or party won 112 seats, which is the simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
After the tallying of votes over the weekend, PH and its partners have won 82 seats, followed by PN’s 73, BN’s 30, GPS’ 22, GRS’ six, Warisan’s three, Parti Bangsa Malaysia and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat’s one each, and two independents.
Meanwhile, the election of the Padang Serai seat will be held on December 7 following the sudden death of PH’s candidate and incumbent M. Karupaiya on November 16, three days before polling day. – The Vibes, November 21, 2022
