The King Of Malaysia Wants Peaceful And Harmonious Politics, These Two Names Are Carried By Political Parties To Become Prime Minister Candidates

Collage of Anwar Ibrahim (left - Wikimedia Commons/udeyismail) and Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Wikimedia Commons/Sophie ds15)

JAKARTA - The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) will nominate Ismail Sabri Yaakob as their candidate for prime minister after a meeting of the highest council on Tuesday evening.

"Only one name will be nominated as prime minister candidate by members of parliament at UMNO/BN (Barisan Nasional), and that is Ismail Sabri", party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan tweeted as quoted by CNA, Wednesday, August 18.

He added that this was a collective decision by UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, vice president Mohamad Hasan, BN adviser and former prime minister Najib Razak and other members of UMNO's highest council.

Ismail Sabri served as deputy prime minister in the Cabinet of Muhyiddin Yassin who resigned on Monday. Member of parliament Bera also became defense minister.

"We have exceeded the number needed (to gain majority support)", claims Tajuddin.

As of Wednesday morning, neither Bersatu nor PAS had confirmed whether they would nominate Ismail Sabri as their prime ministerial candidate.

Following Muhyiddin's resignation, all MPs were asked to submit a statement to the State Palace, declaring someone they support to be the next prime minister by 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

Prime ministerial candidates need to convince the rulers they are likely to have the majority support from the Lower House, which currently has 220 members of parliament and two vacant seats.

The Star has reported that a special meeting of Malay rulers will be held on Friday, at which the King of Malaysia is likely to announce the decision of the 220 MPs on who will be the next prime minister.

Malaysian Parliament illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/DannyG15)

Meanwhile, local media reported that the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition will nominate Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim as their prime ministerial candidate. PH, which consists of the PKR, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the State Amanah Party (Amanah), has 88 members of parliament.

As reported by The Malay Mail, a source familiar with the negotiations regarding this candidacy reported that Anwar currently has 105 federal lawmakers on his side.

The report added that Anwar was supported by the Sabah Heritage Party as well as other opposition parties and independent candidates. However, he still lacks the modest majority of 111 MPs needed to form a new government.

On Tuesday afternoon, Anwar said Malaysian political parties had reached a consensus to stop the old politics, adding that King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had called on party leaders to move towards a new politics that brings peace and harmony to the Ummah.

"Under the new political form, those who won could not oppress those who lost, as had been the case", he said.

"Therefore, there needs to be a mobilization of efforts from all parties, with a new understanding, a new consensus to work together to deal with COVID-19 and revive the country's economy", he said.

He added that there was a consensus among those present at the royal audience to stop the tiresome and boring old politics, Anwar said.

"The issue is not only about the appointment of a new prime minister, but more importantly, as emphasized by the king and vice-king, to move towards a new form of politics that is more peaceful and harmonious for the people", he added.

To note, last Tuesday political party leaders headed to the national palace for a royal audience, as the king began the process of identifying a new prime minister following the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin.

Among those seen entering the palace were the president of the United Malays National Organization Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, secretary general of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Hamzah Zainudin, vice president of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and president of the Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, Mukhriz Mahathir.