2020 Malaysian political crisis
The 2020 Malaysian political crisis (sometimes referred as Sheraton Move or 2020 Malaysian constitutional crisis) is a political crisis in Malaysia that has led to the resignation of Mahathir Mohamad as the 7th prime minister and the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as the 8th prime minister. It also saw the ousting of the incumbent coalition government of Pakatan Harapan after having ruled for 22 months following their victory in the 2018 Malaysian general election.
The crisis started when several political parties joined forces and tried to form a new government by claiming majority seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower chamber of the Parliament of Malaysia, without going through an election. It was accomplished through the withdrawal of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) from the Pakatan Harapan coalition and through the support of several MPs from the People's Justice Party (PKR) who left the party. The prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, resigned as a result.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Abdullah Ahmad of Pahang, then met with all MPs and political party leaders to gauge their support for a new prime minister. He ultimately appointed the president of Bersatu, Muhyiddin Yassin, as the prime minister. Muhyiddin announced that his coalition government will be called Perikatan Nasional.
Four states; Johor, Malacca, Perak and Kedah also experienced changes in the respective state governments as Perikatan Nasional gained majorities in the state legislative assemblies while Perikatan Nasional secured every seat in the Kelantan and Terengganu legislatures, leaving them without an opposition.
| “ | During the meeting, I had asked YAB Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad not to resign. However, he was firm in his own decision. As such, I am responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister as required by the Federal Constitution. On February 25 and 26, I held a one-on-one meeting with all members of the House of Representatives to self-assess their support. On February 29, I convened all political parties with representatives of the House of Representatives to nominate a member of the House of Representatives as the next Prime Minister. At the request of several political leaders, I am also agreed to extend the time period for political parties to submit their nominations so that sufficient time is given for them to make democratic calculations. Therefore, after going through all these processes; and in accordance with the Federal Constitution; I found that YB Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Haji Yassin has gained the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives and has thus been appointed the eighth Prime Minister. In fact, I had established a trust that is transparent and just in accordance with the concept of the Constitution and Parliamentary Democracy which is the backbone of our country's practice. | „ |
| ~ Abdullah Ahmad of Pahang, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia |
Key People & Background edit
Alliance of Hope, a coalition of four political parties, People's Justice Party (PKR), Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), National Trust Party (AMANAH), and Democratic Action Party (DAP), won the 2018 Malaysian general election against the then-incumbent Barisan Nasional, which had held power in the federal government for 60 years. Mahathir Mohamad, the chairman of Bersatu and president of Pakatan Harapan, was elected as the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, making him the oldest prime minister in the world at age 92. He had previously served as the fourth prime minister from 1981 until 2003 under the banner of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of Barisan Nasional. He left the party in 2016 and founded Bersatu to oppose the regime of the sixth prime minister, Najib Razak, whom he had repeatedly urged to resign after the 1MDB scandal.
Mahathir reconciled with his former political rival Anwar Ibrahim who was the leader of PKR, in order to win the election. Anwar was
previously Mahathir's deputy prime minister from 1993 to 1998 before he was dismissed and imprisoned from 1998 until 2004 under corruption charges. He was further imprisoned in 2014 under sodomy charges before receiving a royal pardon in 2018 from the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Muhammad V of Kelantan. Mahathir had promised to hand over the position of prime minister to Anwar in two years. Mahathir resigned from his position on 24 February 2020.
Azmin Ali was the deputy president of PKR and previously served as Anwar's private secretary from 1993 to 1998. He was introduced to Anwar by Mahathir and was regarded as the latter's adopted son. He left Mahathir's UMNO in favour of Anwar's PKR (then called Parti Keadilan Nasional), becoming one of its founding member, after Anwar's first imprisonment. He was appointed by the Sultan of Selangor, Sharafuddin of Selangor over Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Ismail, as Menteri Besar of Selangor during a highly controversial political manoeuvre called the Kajang Move in 2014. He reconciled with Mahathir after the 2018 general election, relinquishing his position as Menteri Besar to join Mahathir's cabinet as the Minister of Economic Affairs. Azmin's relationship with Anwar had since turned sour, with Azmin being accused of trying to block Anwar from prime ministerial position. It culminated at PKR's annual national congress in December 2019 where Anwar makes vague remarks about treachery in his policy speech, which was believed to be aimed at Azmin.
Muhyiddin Yassin is the president and a founding member of Bersatu. He was the deputy president of UMNO and had formerly served as the deputy prime minister from 2009 until 2015 under the sixth prime minister, Najib Razak. He was fired from his position after he criticised Najib for his alleged involvement in the 1MDB scandal and was ultimately expelled from the party in 2016. He returned to the cabinet after the 2018 general election and became the Minister of Home Affairs. He was appointed as the eighth prime minister of Malaysia a week after Mahathir's resignation.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, also sometimes referred to as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch of Malaysia and its position is rotated between the nine Malay rulers every five years. He has the prerogative to appoint the prime minister based on whom he believes holds the majority support from the members of parliament, in accordance with Article 43 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The current and 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Abdullah Ahmad of Pahang who ascended the throne in January 2019.
Important Key Peoples:
- Mahathir Mohamad - Former Prime Minister of Malaysia and Former Chairman of BERSATU. Possibly the mastermind on this crisis.
- Muhyiddin Yassin - President and Acting Chairman of BERSATU. Now as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
- Anwar Ibrahim - President of PKR. Before this crisis, he was the next-in-line for the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
- Azmin Ali - Former Deputy President of PKR.
Other Key Peoples:
- Hadi Awang - President of PAS.
- Zahid Hamidi - President of UMNO.
- Abdullah Ahmad of Pahang - Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and play the main role on determining the next Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Government of Malaysia.
- Members of the Lower House of Malaysia - Determining the majority of the Lower House of Parliament of Malaysia and the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.
- Saddiq Rahman - Former Minister of Youth and Sports and Former ARMADA Youth Chief of PPBM.
Chronology edit
TBA