Although Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been appointed as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister, the dust has yet to settle on the country’s political landscape, with snap polls still a likely outcome.
Political analysts said the recent development with the appointment of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president as prime minister did not necessarily mean that the political tussle was over.
Geostrategist Azmi Hassan said the government headed by the newly-minted prime minister was still in a “very precarious position”.
“As Bersatu is broken into two factions, Muhyiddin only commanded a slim majority of 114 members of parliament supporting him as the new prime minister.
“This is a very precarious position for the government headed by him, because anything can happen if one or two from the 114 jump over to Pakatan Harapan.
“If more than two members of parliament jump over, Perikatan Nasional will lose their majority.
“Should this happen, I don’t think another exercise like this will be rolled out again to choose the next prime minister. A general election will have to take place then,” he told the New Sunday Times.
Azmi did not discount the possibility of such a scenario happening soon, adding that Malaysian politicians were an “unpredictable lot”.
On the fate of the state governments, Azmi predicted that Kedah, Selangor and Penang would remain under PH rule.
“It will all depend on the assemblymen on where they stand now, especially those from PKR and Bersatu.
“There are PKR assemblymen who are aligned with Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and there are those who support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“So, who they choose will determine the state government’s status, but it will all depend on the rulers of each state.”
Azmi believed that the new cabinet line-up would also consist of members of parliament from Perikatan Nasional, which would include leaders from Umno, Pas, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
Political analyst Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said Muhyiddin needed to find ways to unite his party or risk a faction breaking away.
He added that whether PH accepted defeat or if there were plans to reconcile remained to be seen.
“However, I don’t think those who oppose Muhyiddin’s appointment should appeal (to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decision) as it is the king’s prerogative.
“They can put forward a vote of no confidence in Parliament, but they will not be able to push for it as it should come from a sitting government, and the Dewan Rakyat Speaker can also stop it.”
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan political and law analyst Professor Datuk Dr Abdul Halim Sidek said the newly-appointed prime minister would select whoever he believed could work with him to form a cabinet.
“So, members of the cabinet must be from among those who supported him, for example Perikatan Nasional.
“He will not appoint anybody who opposed him. There is no other scenario.”
– NST