NEWS

LATEST: A Demonstration Is Planned For Tonight (February 25) To Protest The Latest Political Developments

RD Minion 25/02/2020 | 08:48 MYT

(4.30p.m, 25 Feb) - A group of activists are organising a protest ‘Demokrasi Mati, Ayuh Turun ke Jalan’ (Democracy is Dead, Let's Go to The Streets) tonight (Tuesday) at 8.30p.m.

Lawyer and activist Fadiah Nadwa Fikri tweeted about the demonstartion. According to The Star, the police are aware of the planned protest and prepared for any eventuality.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

(2.30p.m, 25 Feb) - The Star reported that Yang DiPertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah will be interviewing 221 Members of Parliament (all except Dr Mahathir) today and Wednesday (26 February) to figure out who has the majority support in parliament.

The Agong will be personally interviewing all MPs.

According to the report, he is expected to interview 90 MPs on the first day starting at 2.30pm and the rest on the next day.

Comptroller of the Royal Family and Household, Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, told the media that the process will be done under Article 43(2) of the Federal Constitution, which handles the formation of the Cabinet.
(10.40a.m, 25 Feb) - As of Monday (24 February) night, the Malaysian Cabinet has been dissolved, New Straits Times reported.
Dr Mahathir has been appointed as the interim Prime Minister and has begun work, The Sun reported.
Meanwhile, Azmin Ali denies that he and the others who left PH were traitors, according to a report by The Edge. He claimed that they left because there were quarters within PH trying to overthrow Dr Mahathir and they were the 'good' guys.
Bersatu rejected Dr Mahathir's resignation as chairman, according to Malay Mail. Party leaders were seen arriving at Dr Mahathir's house earlier this morning.
Negri Sembilan and Selangor Menteri Besar are expected to with the Sultan of the respective states to discuss the political situation there, The Star reported.
(4.40pm, 24 Feb) - Several other Bersatu members is believed to join Dr Mahathir in leaving the party, Malay Mail reported.
Those named in the list are: Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik, Titiwangsa MP Rina Harun, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abd Rahman, Jerlun MP Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Senator Radzi Jidin as well as his media advisor Datuk A. Kadir Jasin.
Amanah and DAP has come out to state their support towards Dr Mahathir, with both the parties saying that they want the 94-year-old to remain as the Prime Minister.
Anwar Ibrahim has also reportedly asked Dr Mahathir to stay and stated that the premier had no intention of joining UMNO despite having quit Bersatu.
(3.15p.m, 24 Feb) - Tun Dr Mahathir quits as Bersatu chairman.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

(2.24pm, 24 Feb): Pakatan Harapan has lost the majority in parliament with the withdrawal of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) from the coalition.

PKR's Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin, who were kicked out of the party, ae expected to form a new independent bloc with several other PKR members.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Yesterday (Feb 23) was a crazy day for many who work in the media.

The news and Twitter were abuzz with the news of high-level politicians having meetings everywhere. A press conference was expected at the end of the day to announce a new coalition involving Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), UMNO, PAS and several Pakatan Harapan members of parliament.
Despite hours of waiting, reporters had to go back with only unofficial confirmation of the possibility of a “newest Malaysia”.
If, like many of us, you were enjoying some well-deserved break over the weekend and missed the drama, don’t worry. We’ve got you.

What happened?

Meetings. About five meetings involving different groups of players took place yesterday, before some of them met with the Agong.

Awani reported that there was a Bersatu meeting, where the top politicians from the party were present including Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad.
Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, however, has said that the meeting was just to talk about internal party stuff.
Considering that Tun Mahathir just sent in his resignation (on Feb 24), we're not sure if the meeting was 'just' a normal one.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

It is good to note that most of the members of this party were former UMNO members who left and joined Tun M when he formed Bersatu.

Then there was the meeting between Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members who are on Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s camp.
Some of those present were PKR Vice President Zuraida Kamaruddin, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota), Datuk Rashid Hasnon (Batu Pahat) dan Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya).
Azmin Ali and Zuraida have since been kicked out of PKR.
Maria Chin has released a statement on her Facebook condemning the possible change in government but we’ll get into more details on that later on. We’ve got three more meetings to update you guys on.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak also had a meeting. Sarawak chief minister and party leader Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg was present at the meeting.
Lastly, there was the meeting between UMNO and PAS.
All these were before 3pm.
Later that day, several people from the different parties that had the meetings on the day were said to have met with the Agong. Nobody knows what the meeting was about.
The flurry of meetings didn’t end there. Reporters were seen at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur till late last night, hoping for a press conference to explain all that has happened but Tun Mahathir later dashed the hopes.

Some politicians confirmed that there’ll be a new coalition

The Star reported PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had confirmed that Bersatu and several PKR members have plans to shake up the Pakatan Harapan government.

He reportedly said that those involved had a meeting with the Agong but he hasn’t received any confirmation on what was happening.
Awani reported UMNO secretary-general Datuk Seri Annuar Musa hinting at the end of Pakatan Harapan.
Annuar apparently said “I think so. We have the numbers” when reporters asked him if this was the end for Pakatan Harapan.

More meetings today (FEB 24)

Several news outlets reported that Anwar is having an audience with the King to discuss the new development in Malaysian politics. With the resignation of Tun Mahathir, what will happen next?

Meanwhile, DAP is also having an emergency meeting today to discuss the matter.

Several politicians have voiced out their unhappiness over the latest developments

Despite having been in the meeting with Azmin Ali and other PKR members yesterday, Maria Chin seems to be just as unhappy about the possibility of a new government.

The former Bersih President shared a press statement on her Facebook calling out those involved in the meetings yesterday.
“Pakatan Harapan won GE14 with a mandate to carry out reforms. It is our responsibility as elected representatives from Pakatan Harapan to honour our promises to uphold the reform agenda, ensure prosperity across all sections of our society and to restore power to its rightful owner: the ‘rakyat’,” she said in the statement.
Chin further stated that it was vital for Pakatan to stay firm to its commitment and ideals, to galvanise the grassroots and to rise above these fights over premiership.
She later posted on her Facebook that she was at the meeting yesterday to express her displeasure about the ‘back door government’ plans by some party members.
Parti Socialist Malaysia (PSM) had also released a press statement calling for an election.
“PSM politics and calls upon a fresh mandate through the ballot boxes so that the ‘rakyat’ can choose once again and now since they have seen the true colours of their representatives.
“PSM also calls for a new alliance of political parties based on politics of principles, integrity and track record to fight politics based cronyism, corruption and elitism,” PSM deputy chairperson S. Arutchelvan said in the statement.

#Malaysia #Malaysia #politics