ANN/THE STAR – Newly appointed Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim must show that he has majority support from Ministers of Parliament (MPs), said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman added that Anwar can show that he has enough support through statutory declarations (SDs).
Muhyiddin added that he has the support of 115 MPs, including 10 Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs.
“For the sake of the confidence of the rakyat, Anwar should prove that he has the support of the majority of members of the Dewan Rakyat,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
He was accompanied by Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang, Gerakan president Dr Dominic Lau, and other top PN leaders.
Earlier, Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman took his oath of office before the King at 5pm at Istana Negara.
Muhyiddin said that on November 20 – a day after the conclusion of the 15th General Election – the Dewan Rakyat Speaker had written a letter to all party presidents to name their candidate for the Prime Minister’s post, adding that the candidate to be named was the person that the party presidents feel enjoys the majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.
Muhyiddin added that on the same day, the Speaker also sent a letter to party presidents asking for the name to be submitted along with SDs for the MP they preferred to be the 10th Prime Minister.
He said that PN then sent a letter through the PAS secretary-general, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman and Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Malaysia (KDM) president to express their intention to form a government together under PN.
Muhyiddin then said that a total of 115 SDs were submitted by PN at 1.28pm on Monday, ahead of the deadline given by Istana Negara.
He added that this includes SDs from 10 BN MPs.
This is despite reports that the 10 BN MPs had later withdrawn their SDs supporting Muhyiddin as the prime minister.
“I believe at that point, I enjoy the majority of confidence from the members of the Dewan Rakyat,” said Muhyiddin.
Asked if he would table a motion of no confidence against Anwar when Parliament convenes, Muhyiddin said that he would allow Anwar to show the necessary evidence first.
“We shall wait and see,” said Muhyiddin.
