This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 6, 2020 - April 12, 2020
ON Friday, Feb 21, the country was under the stewardship of the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his fractured Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. Late that night, after a long and heated presidential council meeting, Mahathir exclaimed angrily to reporters that he would stay on, leading the country until he decided to call time on his second stint.
A week later, the country saw a new prime minister and government in place without Malaysians casting a single vote.
Mahathir had resigned, PH had crumbled and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as the country’s eighth prime minister with the coalition of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and PAS, now known as Perikatan Nasional, backing him.
The Sheraton move
The country’s biggest political crisis kicked off on Sunday, Feb 23, with the then Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali disobeying party orders and attending a dinner organised by Umno and PAS at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel in what is now popularly dubbed the “Sheraton move”.
Azmin and his faction from PKR had to join forces with Bersatu, Umno and PAS to overthrow the PH government.
The dinner, which caused a media frenzy and sent the rumour mill into overdrive, saw all the bigwigs from BN, GPS, PAS and PPBM in attendance.
Earlier that day, there were also sightings of more than 20 VIP vehicles entering Istana Negara — likely belonging to politicians, which had stoked rumours of a coup taking place under the nose of PH.
Mahathir’s Monday blues
On Monday, Mahathir shocked the nation when he stepped down as prime minister as well as Bersatu chairman, claiming that his party had disobeyed its protocol to work with the opposition. This caused a ripple effect in which the government was effectively dissolved and the FBM KLCI closed at 1,490.06 points — its lowest level since 2011 at that point.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah accepted Mahathir’s resignation and appointed him the interim PM pending the appointment of a new PM.
While Mahathir was leading the administration, it was left to the King to decide which party should get to nominate its candidate for prime minister amid a three-way tug of war between PKR, Bersatu and Umno.
In his first address as interim PM, broadcast live on national television, Mahathir expressed his desire to reassume the premiership if he still had the majority support. He also told the nation that he would establish a non-partisan national administration to govern the country in the “best interests of the people”.
Mahathir said he wanted a Cabinet shaped by capable individuals who prioritised national interests instead of their parties. He expressed regret and apologised to Malaysians for his shock resignation as it may have been viewed by some as “wrong”.
Interview with the King
As it was left to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to sort out the mess, he decreed that he would conduct a one-on-one interview with each of the 222 members of parliament. The palace said that the King would then decide on the PM “based on which candidate proposed by the MPs had the command of the majority in the Dewan Rakyat”.
At this time, MPs arrived at Istana Negara in droves to commence the interviews.
Changes in Mahathir-Anwar dynamics
Mahathir, who had cut ties with PH and Bersatu, then suggested the formation of a unity government with him at the helm as an independent prime minister. Meanwhile, PH proposed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as its candidate for the premiership.
The following day, in a stunning U-turn, Mahathir returned as the chairman of Bersatu.
In a further dramatic turn of events, the tide of support for Mahathir seemed to ebb away with his party president and relative outsider in this saga, Muhyiddin, receiving strong support for the PM’s post.
Another twist saw Anwar withdraw and Mahathir installed as PH’s new prime ministerial candidate. Mahathir claimed that he had enough support to command the majority in parliament to form a new government with 114 MPs supporting him as prime minister.
Backdoor government
In the final act, on Feb 29, the King named Muhyiddin as the eighth prime minister of Malaysia as he was “likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the [Lower] House”, as spelt out under Article 40 of the Constitution.
Muhyiddin, along with his Bersatu party, had left the PH coalition and had formed his Cabinet with GPS, PAS and BN in what many have called a “backdoor government”.
In announcing his Cabinet line-up, Muhyiddin did not name a deputy prime minister but named four senior ministers, saying this was to ensure a functional Cabinet that could be more focused on service delivery.
Pandemic strikes
Barely two weeks after taking over as prime minister, Muhyiddin announced the implementation of a Movement Control Order from March 18 to 31 to address the Covid-19 outbreak, which had seen the number of cases in the country surge. He urged all Malaysians to “stay at home” to beat the deadly virus.
On the eighth day of the MCO, Muhyiddin announced that it would be extended by another 14 days to April 14 due to the escalating number of Covid-19 cases in the country.
In a televised address to announce a RM250 billion economic stimulus package on March 27, he said the government was “at war with invisible forces” but that it was doing its best.
Muhyiddin even said, “This government may not be the government that you voted for. But I want all of you to know that this government cares for you” — admitting to his administration’s deficit in the people’s mandate.
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