Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim says he has enough support to oust Muhyiddin Yassin and form new government

Key points: • Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says he has support of “close to” two-thirds of the country’s 222 MPs, but declined to reveal details until a meeting with the king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah • Allies in his Pakatan Harapan bloc – the Democratic Action Party and Parti Amanah Negara – have signalled they approved of Anwar’s plan to form a new government • Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar’s on-off rival who recently formed a new party, has cast doubt on the latter’s plan • Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin did not directly address Anwar’s remarks in a live address but urged citizens to reject “blind actions” from certain politicians • Anwar needs 112 seats to form the government. His Pakatan Harapan alliance controls 91 seats, 21 short of a simple majority Malaysia’s year of roller-coaster politics took a fresh turn on Wednesday as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in a surprise move declared he had obtained enough support from MPs in parliament to oust the six-month-old government of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and form a new broad-based administration. In response, the premier said any change of government needed to be done through constitutional means, alluding to the need for royal assent. Can Malaysia’s Muhyiddin see out the year as prime minister? The country’s constitutional monarch, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who played a stabilising role in the messy political crisis that handed Muhyiddin power in March, in a separate statement urged all sides to prioritise the country’s interests. The monarch acknowledged that Anwar had sought his audience on the plan, but that the meeting was postponed as he was convalescing in hospital after taking ill on Tuesday. Until proven otherwise, the Perikatan Nasional government is standing firm and I am the legitimate prime minister PM Muyhiddin Yassin Anwar, in a hastily convened press conference at noon, said he had been approached to take over the government by “a number of MPs from various parties who expressed deep dissatisfaction with the current leadership”. While stressing that he had “convincing support” from the country’s 222 MPs, the 73-year-old opposition leader did not provide an exact figure. He said the move had been in the works for a month. The prime minister’s response, which came by way of a written statement in the late afternoon, did not strike a particularly defiant note. “Until proven otherwise, the Perikatan Nasional government is standing firm and I am the legitimate prime minister,” Muhyiddin said. Earlier, he delivered a live national address on further stimulus measures to deal with the coronavirus recession and appealed to citizens to “reject blind actions from a handful of politicians who deliberately want to affect political stability and economic recovery of the country”. Malaysia’s Anwar pans Muhyiddin’s Covid-19 economic rescue plan There were reactions from his ministers as well. Khairy Jamaluddin, the science, technology and innovation minister, tweeted a photo of a cabinet meeting earlier on Wednesday with the caption: “Cabinet meeting just ended. Nothing fell or collapsed.” Azmin Ali, Muhyiddin’s No. 2 in the cabinet and an Anwar ally-turned-rival, tweeted: “Incorrigible liar and political psychopath.” Baru selesai mesyuarat Jemaah Menteri. Tidak ada apa-apa yang tumbang atau jatuh. pic.twitter.com/Yao1At1jZf — Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) September 23, 2020 Anwar, leader of the three-party Pakatan Harapan alliance, said he hoped to meet with Sultan Abdullah soon to prove his majority. Anwar said the new administration would have a “strong, formidable [and] convincing majority”. “I am not talking about four, five, six – I am talking about much more than that,” Anwar said, saying the final figure of MPs who backed him amounted to “close to” two-thirds of all MPs. Anwar said Muhyiddin “has fallen as PM [and] I invite him to work with us”. He said the prime minister’s cooperation would “facilitate a peaceful transition”, and added that there was a possibility he could “continue to serve in a relevant role” in the new administration. The final details would only be revealed after his audience with the king, Anwar said. The development marks a dramatic turn in the country’s already tumultuous politics. In March, a Pakatan Harapan government that won elections in 2018 was toppled following a political coup by Muhyiddin, a former ally of Anwar and the then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar has been in politics since 1982, and was deputy prime minister for five years until he was sacked by Mahathir in 1998 during the elder statesman’s first stint in power. Later, Anwar was jailed over sodomy and corruption on charges he maintains were trumped up. Upon his release, he galvanised the country’s opposition to a potent force. Wednesday’s development rekindled memories among online commentators of Anwar’s claim in 2008 that he had a majority to topple then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The move later fell flat as members of the long-ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) failed to defect. He was later jailed again – also on charges he claimed were false – and was incarcerated when Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 vote. Soon after the landmark election, the then-sitting monarch Muhammad V granted him a royal pardon, paving the way for the fiery orator's return to frontline politics. Mahathir eyes new role as power broker in Malaysian politics Anwar hinted on Wednesday that his new alliance would include members of Umno, the linchpin party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance that governed the country from 1957 until the 2018 election. Umno’s chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a statement said he was informed that “many” MPs from Umno and BN supported Anwar’s move. BN, with a total of 42 MPs, currently props up Muhyiddin’s razor-thin legislative majority. Zahid in his statement said he respected the positions of MPs who now backed Anwar. Another major question on the mind of commentators was Mahathir’s position on Anwar’s move. Asked during the press conference if he had the nonagenarian’s support, Anwar replied: “No, but he may decide later.” Speaking in a virtual business conference before Anwar’s press conference, Mahathir raised doubts about whether his former protege’s hope of forming a government would materialise. The two men had set aside their decades-long rivalry when they were part of the Pakatan Harapan government, but have again drifted apart following the March coup by Muhyiddin. “We will have to wait and see if this is another episode of making claims that cannot be substantiated,” Mahathir was quoted as saying by the business news portal The Edge. Mahathir in August formed a new party called Pejuang after his sacking from the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), a former Pakatan Harapan constituent party he co-founded with Muhyiddin to contest the 2018 election. Muhyiddin more popular than Mahathir, but not with Malaysian-Chinese: poll On social media, commentators wondered aloud if Anwar’s plan to take over the government would fizzle out like in 2008. Following his press conference, Pakatan Harapan constituent parties Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) said they backed Anwar’s plan to form a new government. In total, the bloc has 91 MPs, 21 seats short of a simple majority in the legislature. The DAP has 42 seats, Amanah has 11 seats and Anwar’s multiracial Parti Keadilan Rakyat has 38 seats. The political manoeuvring comes just days ahead of a crucial state assembly election in the east Malaysian state of Sabah. The polls were triggered following an attempt by some lawmakers to bring down the state administration of Chief Minister Shafie Apdal – who is aligned to Pakatan Harapan – through defections. Shafie’s Parti Warisan Sabah (Sabah Heritage Party) faces a stiff challenge from Muhyiddin’s allies, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (Sabah People’s Alliance) in the polls. Political observer Azmil Tayeb told This Week in Asia that Anwar’s plan would have little impact on the vote given that Warisan was already the “odds-on favourite” to win. But it might add to the “jitters and insecurity felt by [Muhyiddin’s] government if it loses Sabah and also in the lead up to the budget vote in parliament later this year”, Azmil said.