ANWAR Ibrahim is to make a major announcement today, as speculation mounts that the opposition leader has the numbers to be the next prime minister. 

Talk has been rife since the beginning of September that the PKR president has thrashed out a deal with Umno and Sarawak lawmakers for a parliamentary majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat. 

It is understood that Anwar has also written to Istana Negara about the latest developments. 

“Please be informed that Anwar will have a media conference about an important announcement today at noon in Clarke 1 at the Le Meridien Hotel, KL,” according to a statement issued by PKR communications chief Fahmi Fadzil.

Meanwhile, Sin Chew online reported that Anwar had revealed to his allies and party insiders that he had secured the support of 123 lawmakers.

In its report, the portal said this did not include members of Parliament from Dr Mahathir’s camp and Warisan.

Anwar lost out by a thin majority to current prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin in late February to form the government when Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned after his Bersatu party aligned itself with Umno, PAS and a bloc of Sarawak lawmakers.

This is the second September that Anwar claimed to be able to form a government. The first was in 2008, when the then administration led by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lost the traditional Barisan Nasional parliamentary two-thirds supermajority.

Sources said today that Anwar has reached an agreement with 20-odd lawmakers who are now part of Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN) pact.

However, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has been undergoing treatment at Institut Jantung Negara since Monday.

Muhyiddin pulled Bersatu out of Pakatan Harapan (PH) on February 24, and Dr Mahathir announced his resignation as prime minister hours after

This caused the collapse of the 22-month old PH government, allowing Muhyiddin to become the prime minister with the support of Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS). 

Bersatu, however, was at loggerheads with Umno after the latter did not want to be part of PN formally and invited Bersatu to join Muafakat Nasional (MN) with PAS instead, which the party accepted.

With Bersatu’s entry, MN’s three Malay parties form the backbone of the government, with GPS, MCA, MIC and several Sabah parties in support. – September 23, 2020.