Malaysia election: Anwar, Zahid in 11th hour talks as Palace deadline looms
KUALA LUMPUR - Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief Anwar Ibrahim and his Barisan Nasional (BN) counterpart Zahid Hamidi are due to meet at 10am Monday, just hours before a Palace deadline for Malaysia’s political leaders to cobble together a government.
The meeting comes after Saturday’s vote threw up the nation’s first ever hung Parliament after a general election, with both Datuk Seri Anwar and Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin staking their claim to becoming prime minister.
PH’s largest component, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), agreed Sunday night to Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Anwar’s move to rope in the Umno-led BN, sources told The Straits Times.
The move is controversial as PH has long made anti-corruption a core principle of its political agenda and Umno is perceived to be riddled by graft, not least of them party president Zahid who is on trial for dozens of graft charges.
In 2018, Umno lost power for the first time in Malaysia’s six-decade history on the back of public ire over the 1MDB scandal in which billions of dollars in public funds were stolen.
“Zahid won’t be given government positions and there will be no interference in his court case. It’s a rough, tough decision but we have to recognise the bigger enemy. PAS can’t be allowed in government,” a member of DAP’s leadership council told ST, referring to Parti Islam SeMalaysia.
PAS, a member of Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s PN, emerged as the largest party in Parliament with 49 MPs after Saturday’s election, and has long espoused Islamist views that critics say infringe on personal freedoms.
Both Mr Anwar and Mr Muhyiddin, with 82 and 79 MPs respectively, need support from BN parliamentarians to achieve a simple majority in the 222-seat legislature.
But ST has learnt that as of Sunday evening, Umno was deeply divided, with some leaders calling on Zahid, who wants to commit BN’s 30 MPs to support PH, to resign.
About 20 Umno MPs want to back PN, and some prominent figures in Umno believe the party should stay in the opposition having suffered its worst ever defeat.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which took 22 of the state’s 31 seats, has declared its backing for former premier Muhyiddin, putting the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president in pole position.
Malaysia’s King, who is tasked with determining who is likely to command the confidence of the majority in the legislature, had decreed Sunday that in view of the hung Parliament, parties and independent MPs should present him a coalition that can form government by 2pm Monday.
The outcome will also have a huge bearing on who takes control of the state governments in Perak and Pahang, both formerly Umno-led states, as Saturday’s election resulted in a hung result for their legislative assemblies.
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