Anwar Allegedly Commands A Majority Support With Defectors From UMNO And BN

A few hours after his shocking announcement, various political leaders have broken their silence to clarify their parties' political position.

For starters, Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said his 42 Members of Parliament (MP) in the party will support Anwar - on the condition that only if the latter commands enough parliamentary seats to form the new government, reported New Straits Times.

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu also said his party has pledged full support to Anwar. The party has 11 MPs in total, reported Malaysiakini.

Together, the old-time Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties have 91 seats in total - 21 seats shy from toppling the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

It is understood that PN currently commands 113 seats in the lower house of the Parliament. Just the defection of two MPs is enough to see the downfall of the seven-month-old government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

To that, Anwar said that he commands a "solid and convincing majority", not just a simple majority of four to six MPs over the 112-seat threshold.

"UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) cannot stop MPs who have chosen to support Anwar, who wishes to be granted an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," theSundaily quoted Zahid as saying.

"I have been informed that many Umno and BN MPs have expressed support (for Anwar). I respect the position of those MPs."

It was reported today that Zahid specifically reminded Malaysians that UMNO and BN are not officially part of the PN coalition.

"Support for the PN government was based on the support of individual MPs only," he added.

However, despite the UMNO president's statement, Science and Technology Minister Khairy Jamaluddin tweeted earlier that the government led by Muhyiddin has not fallen.

As of press time, it is unknown how many BN MPs have pledged support to Anwar.

BN has 42 seats in total. 39 of those are held by UMNO, while two are held by MCA and one by MIC.

GPS, which commands 18 MPs, said they are "very firm" in supporting Muhyiddin to remain as the premier, Malaysiakini reported.

When speaking to Free Malaysia Today, PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said all of the party's 18 MPs will remain loyal to Muhyiddin.

"The Cabinet meeting just concluded. I confirm that not one PAS MP is with Anwar Ibrahim," said Tuan Ibrahim.

As for the former premier's new party, PEJUANG, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said his party will adopt a wait-and-see approach in deciding to support Anwar, reported Malay Mail.

However, the 94-year-old nonagenarian took a jab at Anwar at this juncture, saying that the latter had pulled a similar move in September 2008.

PEJUANG has five MPs, all of whom were fired by Bersatu following the political fallout in February 2020.

He said that during this afternoon's televised address where he announced B40 and M40 groups will receive between RM500 and RM1,000 under the new economic recovery package.

Muhyiddin stressed that the country currently needs a stable and strong government with the support of the public, reported Malay Mail.

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to reject the blind actions of some politicians who deliberately want to affect the political stability and the country's economic recovery plan which is being implemented well at the moment," said the premier, who is also Bersatu's chairman.

"God willing, we can plan a better future than yesterday. I am confident and believe in the strength of our spirit as Malaysians."