EVENTS in the past 48 hours have shifted the question of adequate numbers to form a government from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to the incumbent, Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Malaysian Insight understands that Muhyiddin and his Bersatu party are scrambling to shore up the Perikatan Nasional (PN) parliamentary majority ahead of the budget session starting November 2.

The government needs a simple majority of 112 MPs to remain in power in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat. At last count, it had 113 MPs.

That scramble began after Anwar had an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on Tuesday to present documents that indicated what the PKR president said was “strong, formidable and convincing” support for his push to become prime minister.

Anwar has yet to reveal a list of MPs who support him as prime minister.

But Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s disclosure yesterday of an exchange of letters with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun about a no-confidence motion has thrown Muhyiddin’s razor-thin majority in the lower chamber into doubt.

Disgraced former prime minister and Umno president Najib Razak also backed his party’s political bureau decision to reconsider support for PN, underscoring the coalition’s shrinking majority this week.

PN’s majority was first tested in July when the government bench proposed to remove Dewan Rakyat Sspeaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof from the chair.

PN pushed through the motion with a narrow 111-109 vote in the 222-seat chamber. One MP was absent while the other, deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon chaired the vote.

Ariff was removed after he allowed the no-confidence motion proposed by Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had resigned as prime minister last February.

Dr Mahathir’s motion had been buried in the Dewan Rakyat order paper until now, resulting in Tengku Razaleigh’s query in a letter dated September 25.

The Malaysian Insight learnt that Azhar hand-delivered his reply to Tengku Razaleigh on September 29. Azhar released a statement last night saying putting the no-confidence motion at the bottom of the order paper was not unique to Malaysia.

“In fact, Australia practises a nearly similar system, where such a motion’s debate will not be expedited without a minister taking it up,” he said in the statement.

The question of whether Anwar or Muhyiddin has the numbers for the top job is expected to take time to be answered as the king has yet to verify the PKR president’s claims.

The king met Tengku Razaleigh after giving Anwar an audience and is due to meet the party leaders from Umno, DAP and Amanah but a stricter coronavirus lockdown in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor from yesterday has delayed those meetings.

The conditional movement-control order (CMCO) is now in effect until October 27.

Analysts said this would give some breathing space to Muhyiddin to consider his options and placate Umno, which is split between continued support for the prime minister or to form an alliance with Anwar.

Umno has nine ministers and seven deputy ministers in the PN government but the Umno MPs who are not in government said the party has been sidelined and short-changed in the alliance formed after Bersatu left Pakatan Harapan under Dr Mahathir in February.

Dr Mahathir has since formed a party called Pejuang with five MPs, and has said they do not support PN or any coalition involving Anwar and Umno. – October 15, 2020.