King Sultan Abdullah had made two biggest blunders. First, he – either ignorantly or deliberately – chose Muhyiddin Yassin as the 8th Prime Minister last year without verifying the authenticity of the support he actually possessed. That was why Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional government has been called a backdoor government. The entire process lacked legitimacy and transparency.

 

It got so bad that British newspaper The Guardian called it a “Royal Coup” – accusing the King of overturning a democratic election result that challenged a corrupt old order. It suggested that the Malaysian monarch was involved in returning the extremely corrupt UMNO political party, which until the May 2018 General Election, had ruled for 61 years since independence in 1957.

 

True enough, Muhyiddin had never dared test his legitimacy in Parliament, even till the last moment of his resignation two days ago (August 16). During the crisis, both Muhyiddin and former PM Mahathir Mohamad (who abruptly resigned after his supposedly trusted lieutenant Muhyiddin betrayed him) had claimed to have in their possession 114 MPs in the 222-seat Parliament.

To prove that Muhyiddin did not have the numbers as claimed, Mahathir had published a full list of names of all the 114 MPs who supported him on the night before Muhyiddin’s official swearing ceremony. Muhyiddin (glamour name: Muhyiddin), however, failed or refused to publish a list of Members of Parliaments allegedly supported him, but was sworn in by Agong (King) anyway.

 

The King’s second mistake was to agree to Muhyiddin’s request to declare a State of Emergency on January 12 under the pretext of fighting Coronavirus pandemic, after the same proposal was rejected earlier in October 2020. As the monarch found it the hard way, Muhyiddin became a monster, locking Parliament to prevent any vote of no confidence, even after royal decrees were issued for it to reconvene.

 

Like it or not, the monarch had no one but himself to blame when the power-hungry Mahiaddin and his minions defiantly ignored all the royal decrees that had the slightest chance of undermining the regime’s “Iron Throne”. Muhyiddin administration had boldly mocked and insulted the Malay Ruler – even to the extent of usurping the powers of the King, an act of treason.

Now, after getting rid of Muhyiddin, it appears that Sultan Abdullah has learned his lesson. To improve transparency, he met all the political party leaders in his Palace yesterday to deliver the same message – to prioritize the fight against Covid-19 and to revive the ailing economy. Crucially, the monarch has decreed that the newly appointed PM must undergo a confidence vote in Parliament.

 

To promote secrecy, every single of the 220 MP was told to submit their declaration letters – individually – of a preferred candidate for premier through fax, email or WhatsApp. To prevent excessive horse trading, the submission of the choice of the next premier must reach the Palace by 4pm today (August 18), just 2 days after Muhyiddin’s resignation.

 

But the juice of Agong’s message was for a unity or a more inclusive government. And it appears that only Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim took note of the royal message. He told journalists – “The issue was not just about appointing a new prime minister, but what’s more important that was stressed by the King is to come up with a form of politics that is more peaceful for the people”.

Others, especially UMNO, Bersatu and PAS leaders had scrambled instantly after the royal meeting to reglue the broken Perikatan Nasional coalition. With the clock ticking down, former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri was proposed as the choice for the 9th Prime Minister. By midnight yesterday, his supporters began sending messages that he has crossed the magic number and garnered 115 votes.

 

However, those who spread the news were the same clowns who had previously said all the 42 Barisan Nasional MPs were behind the leadership of Muhyiddin. They desperately wanted to revive the collapsed Perikatan Nasional coalition by replacing Muhyiddin with Sabri. They hoped and thought that if Sabri could get at least 111 votes, they would be back in power again.

 

This morning, there were tons of hilarious rumours and speculations, from appointing Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak and Zahid Hamidi as Minister Mentor to guide Ismail Sabri as the newly minted prime minister, to confusion over whether the deputy prime minister should be Azmin Ali or Hamzah Zainudin. Even Sarawak-based Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) secretary-general Alexander Nanta Linggi was mooted as deputy PM.

So, has Sabri really secured the support of 115 MPs as claimed? PAS Islamist party has said its 18 MPs are behind him. Bersatu president Muhyiddin reportedly has ordered all its 31 MPs and 4 independent-friendly MPs to support Sabri. UMNO allegedly said all 42 MPs of its Barisan Nasional coalition will support their vice president. That would bring Sabri’s total votes to 95.

 

However, did all the 95 MPs actually choose Ismail Sabri in their private declaration letters? Did all the 95 MPs, like good students queuing at school canteen for food, obediently and patiently waited for their turn and show the WhatsApp to their president before pressing the “send” button? What if some of them, especially the non-Minister Cluster, change their mind at the last minute?

 

Yes, Sarawak-based GPS coalition reportedly had changed their mind at the eleventh hour. While GPS’ 18 MPs had nominated Sabri as its prime ministerial candidate, at the same time, its chief – Abang Johari Openg – reportedly said his MPs will revoke support for PM wannabe Ismail Sabri if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) prefers to choose a different prime minister.

Another report said the Sarawak Chief Minister has refused to reveal its nominee, saying he would leave it to the Agong to do so. Now, some may say Openg was just trying to be polite and respect the King’s wish to keep the prime ministerial candidate confidential. But if that is true, exactly why GPS had waited till the last minute before submitting its declaration letters?

 

The silly PAS Talibans have bragged that their letters of support for Ismail Sabri were prepared days ago. Interestingly, Abang Johari Openg said the Opposition coalition did not reach out to him. Was he actually waiting for Opposition leader Anwar to call him with an offer of Deputy PM – or even Prime Minister? Still, he didn’t have to be secretive after the 4pm deadline expired.

 

Previously, when challenged or provoked, the GPS chief would immediately declare his support for then-PM Muhyiddin. After UMNO, Bersatu and PAS openly declare their support for Sabri today, there is no reason for GPS not to do the same. The only explanation is this – GPS’ support for Sabri is conditional – subject to Agong’s preference. This means it’s “NOT” guaranteed.

This is where UMNO, Bersatu and PAS may have missed the royal message in their greedy rush to grab power again. This is not merely about the number games. If this is merely about who crosses the 111-vote first, the King does not need to call for a special meeting with his royal brothers on Friday (August 20). He could just ask his secretary or hamster do all the counting.

 

Assuming Ismail Sabri has secured the 115 votes, which is not, his Perikatan Nasional 2.0 will be more fragile than Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional 1.0. It was already bad that Muhyiddin had been held hostage by UMNO leadership since March 2020. This round, Sabri will be blackmailed by two parties – Bersatu and his own party UMNO (Zahid Hamidi and Najib Razak).

 

Even before the submission of the declaration letters today, Bersatu has already hatched the greedy idea of bestowing Mahiaddin with Minister Mentor to honour its party president with power higher than the prime minister himself. Like Lee Kuan Yew, former Minister Mentor of Singapore, Bersatu wants “turtle egg” PM Ismail Sabri to “kowtow” and listen to the higher ranked Muhyiddin.

Sabri will effectively become a proxy of Muhyiddin, as well as a puppet of Zahid and Najib. Both Najib and Zahid were trapped in their own chess game to checkmate Muhyiddin. They could not find good justifications or excuses to reject fellow UMNO vice president Ismail Sabri as the new prime minister, despite Sabri’s open rebellion and betrayal against his own party.

 

With the 15th General Election less than 1½ years away, Najib will be desperate to get his guilty verdict reversed while Zahid will push Sabri to drop all his 87 charges related to money laundering and corruption and criminal breach of trust (CBT). Like Muhyiddin, Sabri will be busy fighting the same battle against releasing Najib and Zahid to avoid competition. And another coup will happen again.

 

Does the King really think Sabri administration can fight against Covid-19 and revive the ailing economy? With the captain being replaced, Perikatan Nasional 2.0 is still old wine in a new bottle. After all, the “turtle egg” Sabri was the same Senior Minister who made all the SOP U-turns and policies flip-flop, leading to the deteriorating Coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Worse, the Malay Rulers will most likely be condemned by the people – repeating the same mistake, but expecting a different result. Perikatan Nasional 2.0 will be worse than 1.0. More people will die due to Covid-19, investors will flee more quickly, unemployment will skyrocket much higher, inflation will explode, the currency will plunge, GDP will drop to negative, and whatnot.

 

However, with GPS’ decision to allow the King makes the final call, the 18 votes from Sarawak could swing either way. Essentially, it is empowering the monarch with its 18 votes, which could be awarded to either Perikatan Nasional 2.0 or Pakatan Harapan. Without the 18 votes, Ismail Sabri has only 95 MPs while Anwar Ibrahim possesses 105 MPs.

 

Therefore, it could be either Prime Minister Sabri with 113 votes or Prime Minister Anwar with 123 votes, depending on the outcome from the royal emergency meeting this Friday. Sabri may think he has already gotten all the eggs needed, but the “turtle egg” man should not count his chicken before they hatch. The 18 votes from GPS are at the King’s mercy.

Even if Mahathir’s Pejuang’s 4 votes go to Tengku Razaleigh, Pakatan Harapan still has 101 MPs, more than Perikatan Nasional’s 95. The King may force both sides of the political divide to work together where a bipartisan Cabinet comprises MPs from Perikatan and Pakatan. Heck, it’s possible that neither Sabri nor Anwar will get the job. The King may conduct an interview or ask everyone to choose again.

 

Already, Facebook pages of UMNO leaders have been flooded with criticism by UMNO supporters over the decision to back Ismail Sabri after his betrayal. Therefore, the 15 UMNO MPs who pulled out of Muhyiddin administration may be forced to do the same against Sabri. Similarly, Johari Openg was also criticized for not supporting fellow Warisan president Shafie Apdal as the first Borneo prime minister.

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Karma!! – Muhyiddin Cries & Lies Even After Resign, From Plotting With Crooks To Killing 13000 People To Achieving 0% GDP
• Muhyiddin Now Begs For Opposition’s Support In Exchange Of Money, Positions & Reforms – Here’s Why The “SCAM” Must Be Rejected
• Agong’s Last Warning – Either Muhyiddin Resigns, Tests His Legitimacy Next Week Or The King Fires Him & Appoints A New PM
• Muhyiddin Govt Waging War Against Agong – Extremely Angry King Wanted The Prime Minister’s Resignation
• PM Muhyiddin Commits Treason! – The King Must Clarify If He Has Approved A Backdoor Revocation Of Emergency
• 9 Monarchies Throw PM Mahiaddin Under The Bus – Here’re The Top-10 Message That Backdoor Government Is Game Over
• PM Muhyiddin In Trouble – A Special Emergency Meeting Of 9 Monarchies Could See A New Government
• The Worst Is Yet To Come – Muhyiddin’s Mishandling Of Covid-19 & Mismanagement Of Economy Is Worse Than Trump
• 12 Years’ Jail & RM210 Million Fine For World’s Biggest Crook Najib – A Result Of Insulting The Judge’s Intelligence
• Zahid Finally Threatens PM Muhyiddin – It’s All About Greedy Malay Leaders Fighting Each Other For Power
• A Puppet PM – UMNO & PAS Will Continue Blackmailing Muhyiddin, Including To Drop All Criminal Charges On Najib & Zahid

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August 18th, 2021 by financetwitter

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