Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today asked MPs to give him their preferred choice for prime minister or indicate that Parliament should be dissolved for fresh elections, according to Kuala Krau MP Ismail Mohamed Said.
He told reporters about the audience with the king as he left the Istana Negara, where the head of state has been holding individual interviews with MPs since 2.30pm.
“We were asked two choices, to name a candidate, or if parliament should be dissolved,” he said.
The king is to interview 90 MPs today and continue his audience with the remainder of the Dewan Rakyat’s 222 MPs tomorrow.
So far, MPs that were seen coming to and leaving the palace today have been from Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
GPS earlier issued a press statement to confirm its MPs’ support for Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be prime minister.
Meanwhile, Umno and PAS rushed to hold a press conference after their MPs left the palace to announce that they had opted for fresh elections.
GPS whip, Petrajaya MP Fadillah Yusof, told reporters as he left the palace that he was asked to fill in a form during his interview with the Agong.
Fadillah said he wrote Dr Mahathir’s name as candidate for prime minister. – TMI