Malaysia denials abound as rumours of fresh political coup with Dubai link do the rounds

Opposition leaders and government figures are accused of meeting in Dubai recently to help identify MPs who would potentially take bribes to switch allegiances

Former PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Deputy Minister of Human Resources Abdul Rahman Mohamad are among those denying awareness of the alleged meeting

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Former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says he was in Saudi Arabia when an alleged secret political meeting in Dubai between Malaysian opposition and government MPs took place. File photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:07pm, 2 Jan 2024Updated: 10:29pm, 2 Jan 2024

Members of Malaysia’s unity government have denied any knowledge of a purported political coup in the works after a senior government official over the weekend revealed an alleged attempt to depose Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Talk had been rife in recent weeks over an alleged meeting between opposition leaders and at least two unnamed Malaysian government MPs in Dubai to negotiate a deal to convince enough backbenchers to switch sides and topple Anwar’s administration.

It’s far from being the first time Malaysian politics have been thrown into a tailspin. At the onset of the pandemic in February 2020, several senior ruling party leaders orchestrated a coup that led to the fall of then-premier Mahathir Mohamad.

Muhyiddin Yassin brought down the reformist ruling alliance Pakatan Harapan after it had been in charge for just 22 months.

Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says the government has intelligence reports on an alleged meeting in Dubai. Photo: EPA-EFE

He defected with over 30 MPs and formed an alliance with his old party Umno – which had lost the 2018 election, defeated for the first time in over 60 years – before serving as caretaker leader for 17 months.