The prolonging of a decision on Malaysia’s next prime minister and new government would lead to a sense of disenfranchisement and powerlessness among voters, say analysts.
Malaysians will feel that their votes have no impact on the country’s politics, which has been stuck in limbo after no outright winner emerged in the 15th General Election (GE15) completed on Nov 19.
Voters in Malaysia may be left feeling like their efforts to cast their ballots have made no impact on the country’s democracy.
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive officer Tricia Yeoh said the lead-up to the election and the actual polls itself, “took place in a rather muted manner”.
“Parts of Malaysia were already flooding, and so there was already a sort of disenfranchisement with politics as a whole,” she told CNA938 on Wednesday (Nov 23).
However, the campaign period rejuvenated voters who became more excited about the electoral contest.
“The voter turnout was very high, which means that many Malaysians actually took the time, bothered to return back to their hometowns, some of them braving traffic jams for close to 20 hours,” said Yeoh.
However, the mood since polling day has been dampened considerably, added Yeoh, partly because Malaysians are being reminded of the Sheraton move in March 2020, and “the sort of powerlessness that lies at the hands of the voters to actually determine the outcome”.
“I think whatever outcome that takes place when the Agong announces it, and appoints the prime minister, is not going to be a silver bullet that solves all problems,” she said, adding that it would just be “a compromised solution”.
The eventual government formed would “really need to work very hard in mending some of these broken bridges”, she added.
One of the solutions touted is the formation of a minority government, something which is allowed in the Federal Constitution.
On the matter, political consultancy SoCo’s chief executive officer Dr Sophie Lemiere said that such a set-up would not be very stable. “The problem that I see here is that a very large part of the voters would feel that they’ve been robbed of their election,” she told CNA’s Asia Now.
The current gridlock also has shades of the 2020 political crisis, known as the Sheraton Move, in which the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government collapsed due to infighting and a new leader had to be identified through a process facilitated by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
The move triggered the demise of the PH government, and left Malaysia with a vacuum in the prime minister’s seat.
Back then, the king met with all 222 MPs individually, and also met with his fellow rulers to discuss the issue, Yeoh explained.
Eventually, the decision was made to appoint Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.
On Wednesday, Istana Negara announced that the king will hold a special meeting with his fellow rulers to seek their views on the impasse over the formation of a new government. The king is scheduled to convene a special Council of Rulers meeting on Thursday (Nov 24), to see if they can solve the political impasse.
Umno Says BN Willing To Back Unity Govt But No Perikatan Nasional
The Umno supreme council has unanimously made the decision last night for Barisan Nasional (BN) to support and join a unity government, provided it is not led by Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said in a statement that the party has also agreed for its candidates who won seats in the 15th general election (GE15) to abide by any form of a unity government or otherwise as decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“The supreme council has unanimously decided to support and uphold the command of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for Umno to support and take part in a unity government that is not led by PN to ensure the formation of a stable and prosperous government,” said the statement released early this morning after the party’s supreme council’s meeting.
He said this decision was made following the meeting’s review of both proposals from PN and rival Pakatan Harapan (PH).
BN met PN representatives at the St Regis Kuala Lumpur yesterday, and with Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders prior to that on Monday at the Seri Pacific Hotel.
Umno also reiterated its support for party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to remain in the post as well as chairman of BN.
This comes as MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon had urged yesterday for Ahmad Zahid to be replaced by his deputy Mohamad Hasan, also known as Tok Mat, as Barisan chairman.
As a result, Umno division chiefs will gather this afternoon to demand Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong’s resignation as MCA president.
Meanwhile, a copy of a letter purportedly signed by Wee, MIC president Tan Sri S. Vigneswaran and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah deputy president Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup calling for a vote of no-confidence in Ahmad Zahid has gone viral online. Malay Mail reached out to the trio to verify its authenticity but did not receive an answer.
Others who have demanded the Umno president’s resignation include Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin, former information chief Shahril Hamdan, Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar, Johor Mentri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi and MIC vice-president Datuk C. Sivarraajh.
Besides that, Ahmad also announced that the Umno general assembly for this year will take place between December 21 and 24.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) leader Muhyiddin Yassin had declared that his coalition will not be forming a unity government with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s PH. The two blocs are frontrunners after securing the highest number of seats in the Nov 19 polls, with neither achieving a simple majority, resulting in a hung parliament.
