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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday (September 23) that he has a “strong, convincing and formidable majority” to form a new government and that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government has “collapsed”.
He refused to give the exact number of deputies who are now on his side. A minimum of 112 MPs are needed to control Parliament in the 222-seat House.
Prior to this, the Pakatan Harapan tripartite coalition that he leads had 91 MPs: 38 legislators from his Parti Keadilan Rakyat, 42 from the Democratic Action Party and 11 from Parti Amanah Negara.
Datuk Seri Anwar told a news conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur that MPs with him now include those from the ruling Perikatan Nasional alliance.
“We have a strong, compelling and formidable majority,” Anwar told reporters. “We need a strong and stable government to rule this country and save it.”
He said he would only announce the number of MPs on his side after meeting with the Malaysian king.
“With clear and unchallenged support and a majority behind me, the government headed by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has collapsed,” Anwar added.
Anwar’s shocking announcement came about seven months after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in late February. The PH government was then led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
It is speculated that the 91 MPs from Anwar will be joined by a bloc of 19 MPs from the Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition and 10 MPs from Umno. If true, this would mean that you have 120 MP on your side.
Anwar told reporters that Dr. Mahathir’s group of five MPs, including the statesman himself, would not join the new government he intends to form.
It is unclear whether Johor MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, who broke away from the Mahathir group to form a youth party, will join Anwar.
It is also unknown whether another group of nine Sabah MPs, who have aligned themselves with Dr. Mahathir, will join Mr. Anwar. They want Sabah’s former prime minister, Shafie Apdal, as their prime ministerial candidate.
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