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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says he remains the country’s legitimate leader and that his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government remains in power, until the head of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, has demonstrated by Constitutional means his claim of majority support from federal legislators.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin issued the statement in response to Datuk Seri Anwar’s claims on Wednesday (September 23) that he has won majority support from MPs and that the PN government has fallen.
“I take note of the statement by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who states that he has the majority support of members of Parliament to form the government.
“The claim must be proven through the process and methods determined by the Federal Constitution.
“Without this process, Datuk Seri Anwar’s statement is just a statement.
“Until proven otherwise, the Perikatan Nasional government remains intact and I am the rightful prime minister,” the statement said.
He called on Malaysians to remain calm and said the issue will be handled carefully using the law and the federal Constitution.
In a separate statement, the coalitions and parties backing the PN administration said the government has remained intact and rejected the claim that some lawmakers had supported Anwar.
The factions made up of 12 political parties will continue their “strong backing” for Muhyiddin, PN said in a statement issued by its secretary general, Annuar Musa.
“The alliance of parties that forms the PN government rejects the claim of the president of the PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), Anwar Ibrahim, who claims to have the majority support to form the government.
“His statement is nothing more than a repeat of the cheap publicity that has been done many times before this,” the statement said.
He added: “His new action has exposed his greed and power-hungry attitude that totally ignores the political stability and economy of the country, and the fate of the people, who have been severely affected by Covid-19.”
PN assumed control of the government following the collapse in late February of the Pakatan Harapan government, led by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, after only 22 months in power.
The collapse was caused by the defections of some 40 deputies from Pakatan Harapan, and led to Muhyiddin as the eighth prime minister of Malaysia.
PN has the formal and informal backing of Umno, who heads the Barisan Nasional coalition, Muhyiddin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Parti Islam SeMalaysia, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition and two small Sabah parties.
When Parliament met on July 13, PN had 113 legislators on its side, in the 22-member House.
Pakatan Harapan won the support of a total of 109 parliamentarians, including his allies in Sabah.
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