by SHAFIQQUL ALIFF / pic BERNAMA

YANG di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Riayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has called for a special meeting at Istana Negara tomorrow to discuss with fellow Malay Rulers on the appointment of the 10th prime minister (PM) after meeting several representatives from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) today.

In a statement today, Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the King intends to get the views of fellow Malay Rulers for his to make the decision for the benefit and well-being of the country and the people.

In the meantime, the Agong has called on the people to stay calm.

This morning, the King met separately with BN and GPS representatives, as a follow-up to separate meetings yesterday with leaders of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), the statement said.

“The meeting with the leaders of the coalition was a follow-up to the results of the confirmation of the prime ministerial candidates that were informed by the leaders of the parties and the leaders of the coalition of political parties to Istana Negara yesterday (Nov 22) it was found that no members of the Dewan Rakyat got the belief of the majority is easy to be appointed as the 10th Prime Minister,” he said.

According to Ahmad Fadil, the process is in line with Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution and is intended so that the King can make a decision to appoint a member of the Dewan Rakyat who in His Majesty’s opinion may gain the trust of the majority of members of the Dewan Rakyat as Prime Minister.

In the statement, Ahmad Fadil said: “The Special Meeting of the Malay Rulers is for His Majesty to seek the views of the Malay rulers for him to make a decision in the interest and for the wellbeing of the country and the people…Indeed, the future of our motherland is too precious and should be planned carefully and meticulously.”

The 15th General Election (GE) has resulted in a hung Parliament, with no party or coalition winning at least 112 seats of the 222 seat Dewan Rakyat. PH with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as its prime ministerial candidate has 81 seats while PN with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as its PM candidate has 73 seats. The other major winners were GPS with 22 seats, BN with 30 seats and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) with six seats.

Both Anwar and Muhyiddin have staked the claim that they have the numbers to form a government.

After yesterday’s audience with the Agong, Muhyiddin said that he had rejected a proposal to form a unity government, adding that he has written support from 115 MPs who won in the Saturday polls.