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PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim today weighed in on Muhyiddin Yassin’s claim of having enough support to form the government after the last general election (GE15), saying that the Malay rulers and the then attorney-general had disputed this.
“As far as I know, the then attorney-general (Idrus Harun), who was appointed by Muhyiddin, and the rulers questioned the numbers, so it was left to the king (Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah) to use his discretion.
“That was clear. Prior to this, I avoided commenting on this, but he (Muhyiddin) has kept on talking about this 115 MPs issue,” Anwar said.
He said the Perikatan Nasional chairman did not have enough support because some lawmakers had “signed two or three” statutory declarations (SDs).
Other MPs had left it to their respective party leaders to decide who to back for the top post, he added.
Muhyiddin is under police investigation for allegedly disparaging the former king in a speech during the Nenggiri by-election campaign when he questioned why he was not invited by the previous Agong to become the prime minister after GE15.
He claimed he had the support of 115 MPs.
He, however, defended his speech, saying it was not intended to insult the monarchy or incite the public, but was “based on facts”.
Earlier this week, the Bersatu president submitted several documents to the police to assist in the probe, including what he said were the SDs from the 115 MPs.
Previously, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had claimed that 10 MPs had signed two SDs each – one backing Barisan Nasional and the other supporting Muhyiddin, adding that Muhyiddin did not have enough support to become the prime minister. – August 23, 2024.