GABUNGAN Rakyat Sabah (GRS) will officially be a part of Malaysia’s new unity government, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman said the matter was confirmed to him by coalition leader Hajiji Noor.

“This (the inclusion of GRS) means, the strength of the unity government, shows we have got the support of two-thirds of the parliamentarians.

“With this we can now reinforce the country’s political stability and also concentrate on our work to raise the dignity of the country, strengthen the economy, with the intention of protecting the well-being of our people,” the newly minted prime minister said in a press conference today.

Earlier, Hajiji said GRS would agree to any decision by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, and take heed of the king’s advice to establish a unity government for the stability of the country and well-being of the people.

To command a two-thirds majority in parliament, Anwar’s government would need the backing of a minimum of 148 MPs.

Yesterday, at his first press conference as prime minister, Anwar confirmed that he has the full commitment of all 30 Barisan Nasional MPs as well as Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23), Warisan (3) and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (1).

Together with PH, the support of these lawmakers alone gives Anwar a “convincing” majority of 139 and now with GRS’ six MPs being part of the government, it will raise the tally to 145.

If the two Independent MPs and one from Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat, who are said to be GRS-friendly, pledge their support for the prime minister, that would confirm Anwar’s claims of having two-thirds majority support.

Earlier today, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the Islamist party will also discuss with the rest of Perikatan Nasional component parties about the possibility of joining Anwar’s unity government.

Takiyuddin’s statement comes a day after Bersatu deputy president and Anwar’s challenger for the Tambun parliamentary seat, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, said the PKR president’s unity government does not have a “moral legitimacy”.

Yesterday, Anwar said he would face a confidence motion in parliament to prove that he has the numbers backing him to form the government.

He said it would be the first order of business when parliament convenes on December 19. – November 25, 2022.