Dr M releases list of 114 MPs backing him
The interim prime minister says he has also written a letter to the King to explain his position.
KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has released the list of 114 MPs who support his candidacy to be appointed as prime minister, ahead of the swearing-in tomorrow of Muhyiddin Yassin as the eighth prime minister.
Mahathir said he has prepared a letter to explain his position to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“I hope the King will accept my letter and explanation.”
The list was released after an emergency meeting tonight of the Pakatan Harapan presidential council, comprising leaders of the component parties.
Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub told waiting reporters after the meeting that “111 MPs have signed (statutory declarations supporting PH), and 114 have given me their promise. We have 114. Consistent.”
The list includes Jeffrey Kitingan, president of STAR Sabah, and Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal. However, Syed Abu Hussin said tonight he had supported Muhyiddin, not Mahathir, while Umno politician Ahmad Maslan said Mahathir’s list was inaccurate.
The 114 MPs will gather outside the Yayasan Al-Bukahry building in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning to show that they form a majority in the Dewan Rakyat and are able to support a new government.
Earlier today, Istana Negara had announced that Muhyiddin, who is PPBM president, had been chosen to be Malaysia’s 8th prime minister and would be sworn-in at Istana Negara at 10.30am tomorrow.
He was selected as being “the MP who possibly commands the confidence of the majority of the MPs in the Dewan Rakyat” as required by the Federal Constitution.
A simple majority comprises 112 of the 222 MPs in the house. Without majority support, a government that is defeated on a confidence motion or on a finance bill will be required to resign.
Muhyiddin’s supporters had claimed earlier today that he had the support of at least 114 members, while Salahuddin had said PH had the support of 111 or 112.
Muhyiddin is expected to head a new coalition government called Perikatan Nasional comprising PPBM, Umno, PAS and other MPs. Sarawak’s GPS coalition has said it would support the new government but would not be a member of the coalition.
Pakatan Harapan, made up of PPBM, PKR, DAP and Amanah, had been in power since it won the 14th general election in 2018.
The coalition collapsed last week after PPBM and 10 MPs from PKR pulled out, and Mahathir resigned as prime minister.
He was appointed interim prime minister while the King interviewed all 222 MPs to determine who had enough support to form a new government.
Yesterday, PPBM, Barisan Nasional and PAS announced that they would nominate Muhyiddin as their candidate for prime minister, while PH leaders threw their support behind Mahathir this morning.
New list won’t stop Muhyiddin, says former minister
PPBM supreme council member Rais Yatim said the backing of 114 MPs for Mahathir would not prevent the swearing-in of Muhyiddin as the new prime minister.
Rais, a former minister for law with the Barisan Nasional, said the Federal Constitution states that the King may appoint a prime minister after he is satisfied that he has the majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.
“There is no need for the King to reconfirm the numbers individually,” he told FMT.
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