MALAYSIANS took to Twitter today to mark the first anniversary of the infamous “Sheraton move”, which led to the ouster of the Pakatan Harapan government.

The #SetahunPengkhianatan hashtag was trending at top position at 12.30pm today, with more than 3,000 tweets.

Some said they will never forgive those behind the move, which refers to a meeting of Bersatu, Umno, PAS and some PKR lawmakers at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya on this date last year. 

The meeting, where Bersatu decided to leave PH against the wishes of its then chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was followed by his resignation as prime minister and party chairman, then led to the collapse of the PH government, allowing Perikatan Nasional to rise.

Others on Twitter called the Sheraton move a treachery to the people’s mandate.

“I was so happy & proud of myself being a first time voter in 2018. Who would have thought 22 months later we’d get backstabbed so hard and everything gone downhill ever since.

“Please be reminded that Malaysia is now run by a backdoor government,” said @dearjieunssi.

“Lets never forget and forgive. Keep every receipt,” said @alisa_haf.

“We will never forgive the traitors for using the virus for their own personal gains. We will never forgive them for jeopardizing the people’s health and safety,” @helios2760 tweeted, possibly in reference to the current state of emergency ostensibly to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When the time comes, they will not get even a single vote.” 

Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan also tweeted to commemorate the event.

“A year ago (February 23) the 22 month regime which did not care about the people, ruled with opportunistic greed fell, thankfully (it has been) replaced by a government considerate of the people, no one will be left behind,” he said.

However, his tweet did not go well with some social media users.

“This is called a traitor government. It is embarrassing,” @zainddnzaiid responded.

Another user under the handle @PelitaRaya2 said a government should be elected democratically through general elections, adding that the Kota Baru MP should be mindful before speaking.

A year ago, top guns from Bersatu, together with the Mohamed Azmin Ali faction from PKR, mingled with foes from Umno and PAS in the Sheraton Hotel, hours after six leaders from these parties met the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in a rare audience.

The dinner organised by Azmin, was attended by all MPs except those from PH, GPS and Warisan.

The dinner was held two days after PH held its first presidential council meeting of the year to discuss a timeline for the transition of power from Dr Mahathir to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.

After PH’s collapse, the Agong tried to determine which MP had the majority support of lawmakers, first by all MPs individually, and then by meeting the heads of different political parties.

Muhyiddin Yassin emerged as the one with the strongest support and was sworn in as the nation’s eighth prime minister on March 1, 2020. – February 23, 2021.