KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): After the King consented to the appointment of Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister, DAP secretary general Anthony Loke Siew Fook urged party members to refrain from celebrating.
On his way to Istana Negara after touching down at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Kuching, Loke issued a brief statement saying that all of DAP’s leadership has been instructed to not organise any form of celebration or vehicle convoy events.
"We call on all parties to remain calm and respect the decision of Yang di-Pertuan Agong [Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah] and the Conference of Rulers,” he said in reference to Anwar’s appointment as the PM.
Loke continued that a unity Government will be formed from various coalitions of political parties, which will need to unite and work together to aid Anwar to steer the country out of the crisis it is facing.
Anwar’s appointment as the nation’s PM quelled the five-day political impasse after the 15th general election (GE15) resulted in a hung Parliament, where no coalition successfully garnered a simple majority of 112 parliamentary seats.
PH and its allies secured 82 seats, enough to be the largest bloc in Parliament, but far from the simple majority threshold to form the next Government.
Meanwhile, runner-up Perikatan Nasional won 73 seats, followed by Barisan Nasional (30), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (23), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), and Warisan (three).
Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat and Parti Bangsa Malaysia secured one seat each, while two seats were won by independents.
Anwar was sworn in as the 10th PM at Istana Negara at 5pm on Thursday. He will now form a Government, in the name of the King, from among the coalitions of parties that have given their support to him as the PM.
Get our comprehensive GE15 coverage here.