Malaysia’s opposition has accused the new government of cheating its way into power, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration prepares for a crucial confidence vote in parliament to prove he has the mandate to rule over the next five years.
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the outcome of two by-elections held on Wednesday was proof enough that the public did not approve of Anwar’s move to form a partnership between his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and the former ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance in a unity government proposed by the king.
Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN) on Wednesday wrested from PH the parliamentary seat of Padang Serai in northern Kedah state by a margin of more than 16,000 votes, and went down the wire in the fight for the Pahang state seat of Tioman, which BN eventually retained by a slim edge of over 800 votes.
“The results of the two by-elections show that the rakyat are not thrilled with the coalition of BN and PH [in government],” Muhyiddin said, using the Malay word for people.
“They are not confident in the ability of this mixed government headed by PH to lead the nation. Disappointed by the lies of PH and BN leaders during the GE15 campaign, many supporters of both parties shifted to PN,” he said, referring to the recently concluded national polls.
“To me, the lies by PH and BN in GE15 are the biggest electoral fraud ever.”
Anwar was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister late last month, capping a 24-year-long quest to win the nation’s top office and days after a deeply divisive general election on November 19 that ended with no single party or coalition winning enough seats in parliament to claim the right to lead the country over the next term.
His PH coalition is the largest bloc in parliament with 82 out of the 222 total seats, followed by PN with 74 after Wednesday’s win in Padang Serai.
BN – which held a parliamentary super-majority for most of its tenure as ruling party over six decades from the time Malaysia gained independence from the British – finished with 30 seats.
To break the deadlock, Malaysia’s constitutional monarch Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah proposed that the competing parties work together and form a unity government. Anwar took up the offer, bringing in BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to form the core of his administration. Muhyiddin declined to take part in the king’s proposal.
To prove his parliamentary majority, Anwar said he would leave it to a confidence vote when the Dewan Rakyat, or lower house, convenes on December 19. The prime minister will also table a provisional budget for the government’s operational costs while they prepare the full budget for the next meeting early next year.
Since taking office, Anwar has faced a barrage of criticism from the public and PN. PN has questioned PH’s anti-corruption credentials after PH cut a deal with BN and its graft-tainted linchpin party Umno.
The brickbats intensified when he named Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – who is currently on trial for corruption and abuse of power – as one of his two deputies.
But Anwar has fired back at the opposition, raising allegations of possible misappropriation of 600 billion ringgit (US$136.3 billion) in public funds by Muhyiddin’s administration when PN was in power.
In a separate statement on Thursday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said it has begun investigations into the alleged misappropriation of 600 billion ringgit in public funds and pledged to conduct an in-depth, transparent and professional probe that will cover all angles.
The prime minister also said PN and its component party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), may have allegedly run their election campaign on money sourced from gaming companies. Leaders in PN and PAS have denied the allegations.
On Wednesday, Anwar issued a legal notice to Muhyiddin demanding that he apologise for claiming that the prime minister had received 15 million ringgit from the state government of PH-controlled Selangor – the country’s richest and most industrialised state – for his past role as economic adviser.