Next Malaysian PM must still pass confidence vote

Malaysia's King yesterday decreed that the country's next prime minister would still need to pass a confidence vote in Parliament, as the country's 220 lawmakers submitted their choice of candidate to replace Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in accordance with a 4pm deadline set by the palace.

According to a palace statement, the new premier "should as soon as possible table a confidence motion" to "affirm that he has the confidence of the majority".

Parti Warisan Sabah president Shafie Apdal said the ruler, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, would want to vet the MPs' submissions first.

"His Majesty will call to ensure (the MPs) are truly giving support to the chosen candidate. If a candidate is found to be appointed as prime minister, it has been decreed for this to be brought to Parliament for confirmation," he said in an interview with news channel Astro Awani on Tuesday night.

The palace also announced that the King will meet Malaysia's nine state rulers for a "special discussion" tomorrow, at which they are expected to consider the candidate with the most support and help resolve the month-long political crisis that has left the nation without a prime minister for the second time in 18 months.

The current front runner for the prime minister post is Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who appears to have the backing of at least 114 MPs in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) pact, after all 38 Umno MPs decided on Tuesday to support him. A bloc of at least 111 lawmakers is needed for a simple majority in the 222-seat chamber, as two seats are currently vacant.

The lawmakers who backed Datuk Seri Ismail have been invited to the palace today to meet the King and affirm their stand, sources told ST.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who leads the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, is said to have gathered the support of all 105 opposition MPs, including the 17 outside his coalition from the likes of Warisan, former premier Mahathir Mohamad's Parti Pejuang Tanah Air and Parti Sarawak Bersatu.

The Straits Times understands he is making a last-ditch appeal for backing from Gabungan Parti Sarawak's 18 MPs, who are currently aligned with PN.

Although several leaders from Sarawak's ruling pact have said they will back Mr Ismail, its chairman Abang Johari Openg refused to confirm this yesterday, merely saying he was "leaving it to the wisdom of the King".

ST also learnt Mr Ismail was locked in last-minute talks yesterday in a meeting that included top leaders from Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's faction and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). After the meeting, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the entire party supported Mr Ismail.

Nonetheless, several sources with knowledge of tomorrow's rulers' meeting told ST that aside from discussing who might be Malaysia's ninth premier, a proposal for a unity government could also be on the agenda. "If I'm not mistaken, the King wants a bipartisan Cabinet," said an official who could not be named due to the confidentiality of the matter. "Umno is agreeable so that Ismail won't be all powerful."

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said yesterday the next premier "cannot be tied to any agreement to retain the structure of the previous PN Cabinet", but should abide by the King's decree to "create a Cabinet that can translate the cooperation and unity between all parties during this period to tackle Covid-19... before the time comes to hold the 15th general election".

The palace also said the King called for "unity between all political parties" during his joint audience on Tuesday with major party chiefs. "His Majesty also reminded leaders and representatives of the main political parties to harmonise the situation. MPs that win should extend the hand of cooperation to those that failed and all parties should be ready to work as one team."