Like in a game of poker, PKR’s President, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has finally showed his hand.
But it turns out to be a bluff, as he could not muster a majority support, despite receiving full backing from the Opposition.
The Palace in statement yesterday said, UMNO’s Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri will be installed as the ninth Prime Minister of Malaysia.
For the record, Anwar has been often described as the country’s “forever PM-in-waiting”, due to numerous failed attempts in the past.
As recent as September 2020, he even held a press conference claiming that he has a ‘strong, formidable and convincing’ majority to takeover the Premiership from Tan Sri Mahiaddin Md. Yasin.
In defence of Anwar, his supporters have often shifted the blame to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s Pejuang and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s Warisan, alleging that Anwar failed because of the lack of support from these two parties.
But Anwar’s latest failure shows that such arguments hold no water.
The Opposition pact on Tuesday announced that every single Opposition MPs have named Anwar as the sole PM candidate in their respective Statutory Declaration (SD), bringing the total numbers to 105.
They consist of 88 MPs from Pakatan Harapan, 8 MPs from Warisan, 4 MPs from Pejuang, 2 MPs from Parti Sarawak Bersatu, 1 MP from UPKO, and 2 independent MPs, namely Dr. Maszlee Malik and Syed Saddiq.
But as Anwar could not convince any crossovers, his tenure as the PM-in-waiting has been prolonged.
The other 104 MPs went to Ismail Sabri, whereas Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah voted for himself.
In view of the latest developments, social media has been abuzz with calls for Anwar to retire.
PH has also been told to name a new PM candidate, in order to increase its chances in the next General Election due by 2023.
