[UPDATED] I hope Anwar is my last PM, Agong says after multiple govt changes

KUALA LUMPUR – After overseeing multiple changes of prime ministers during his stint as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said he hopes Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be his last.

In the same breath, His Majesty said he believes the series of political crises throughout the last few years could have been avoided had politicians more openly put aside their differences.

Addressing Parliament at the opening of this year’s session, the king recalled how he is the sole Agong who has been given the opportunity to rule the nation under four different prime ministers and cabinets since his election to the throne on January 31, 2019.

This culminated in the appointment of Anwar as the country’s 10th prime minister on November 24 last year after the 15th general election.

Anwar’s appointment comes following the nation’s first instance of a hung Parliament, after no single party or coalition was able to form the government with a simple majority.

The king, who is also the Pahang ruler, said in this situation, he had opened the doors of negotiation as wide as possible for the MPs to find a solution and cooperate for the sake of the country’s future.

“Acting based on the federal constitution, I then appointed Anwar as the 10th prime minister,” he said in his royal address here today.

“Sincerely, I hope that the 10th prime minister is the last one for me before I make my way back to Pahang,” he added. 

The ruler’s stint as Agong is set to end on January 30 next year, following which he will return to his state.

Al-Sultan Abdullah’s first test came just slightly over a year after he was elected to the throne, when then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad tendered his resignation on February 24, 2020.

The king later appointed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to succeed as Malaysia’s eight prime minister, but his stint was short-lived after several Umno lawmakers withdrew support, resulting in the Bersatu president’s resignation on August 16, 2021.

Following this, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed as the new prime minister, before Parliament was dissolved on October 10 last year, putting an end to his tenure and making him the shortest-serving head of administration.

After the election, the Agong then appointed Anwar to head the unity government, which he had earlier proposed.

In his royal address today, Al-Sultan Abdullah maintained that he only carried out his responsibility in accordance with the oath that he took when taking office.

“It is never my intention to get involved in the country’s politics, let alone manoeuvre the political landscape.”

His Majesty then went on to say that the chain of unending political crises could have been circumvented had the episodes leading to Dr Mahathir’s resignation as the seventh prime minister not happen.

“More importantly, the crises that have plagued the nation for almost four years could be avoided if MPs and politicians were prepared to set aside differences and unite in the interest of the rakyat and country.” – The Vibes, February 13, 2023