Dr M claims that the reason he resigned is that the Harapan government had collapsed when Muhyiddin pulled Bersatu out of the coalition. This is what he said:
Strictly speaking, when Bersatu left Harapan, the coalition ceased to be the government. This meant that all members of the cabinet lost their ministerial positions. This included me. I had lost my position as prime minister. Resigning was only a formality.
But the reality is that there was no immediate collapse because Muhyiddin didn't clearly have a majority either. In fact, the King said he told Dr M not to resign but he insisted on doing so. Why?
Was it because he was a "gentleman" and knowing he had lost control of the majority, he decided to resign? Or could it be for another reason? Might that reason be that he wanted to be free from the shackles of Harapan and be able to form a so-called "unity government" where he could pick and choose whichever MP he wanted from either side without consulting any parties. In other words, a government where everyone is beholden to him while he is accountable to no one.
What made him think he could pull off such a ridiculous scheme? Well, at that time Bersatu, PAS and UMNO were saying they wanted him as PM. Meanwhile Harapan parties were also saying they wanted him as PM. So theoretically he had a super-majority in Parliament where both the ruling coalition and the opposition wanted him as PM.
He probably figured, if UMNO and gang were to reject him, he'd still have Harapan to fall back on. And if Harapan were to reject him, he'd still have UMNO and gang supporting him. With so much support all around, he became over-confident. So imagine his shock when both sides decided to reject his unity government pipe dream.
It's interesting that Najib himself has responded to Dr M's spin on his resignation, pointing out: "He even ignored Harapan's request to have a meeting a day after he resigned to discuss how they could save the Harapan government."
This is what led Harapan to then change its PM candidate to Anwar. Because Dr M had abandoned them. It was only later that the were able to come together again to try to find common ground. Strangely, both DAP and Amanah were keen on having Dr M as Harapan's PM candidate once more. But that was stymied (rightly so) by PKR.
Eventually, DAP and Amanah came around to supporting Anwar again. And that's where we are at right now. I don't think it's a bad situation for Harapan. Together they have 91 MPs. What does Dr M have? A total of 6 MPs. If you lump Warisan in there, he has 15 MPs.
It's very clear who has the upper hand here, even if Dr M and Shafie refuse to recognize the reality of the situation. They are simply in no position to make any demands.
Strictly speaking, when Bersatu left Harapan, the coalition ceased to be the government. This meant that all members of the cabinet lost their ministerial positions. This included me. I had lost my position as prime minister. Resigning was only a formality.
But the reality is that there was no immediate collapse because Muhyiddin didn't clearly have a majority either. In fact, the King said he told Dr M not to resign but he insisted on doing so. Why?
Was it because he was a "gentleman" and knowing he had lost control of the majority, he decided to resign? Or could it be for another reason? Might that reason be that he wanted to be free from the shackles of Harapan and be able to form a so-called "unity government" where he could pick and choose whichever MP he wanted from either side without consulting any parties. In other words, a government where everyone is beholden to him while he is accountable to no one.
What made him think he could pull off such a ridiculous scheme? Well, at that time Bersatu, PAS and UMNO were saying they wanted him as PM. Meanwhile Harapan parties were also saying they wanted him as PM. So theoretically he had a super-majority in Parliament where both the ruling coalition and the opposition wanted him as PM.
He probably figured, if UMNO and gang were to reject him, he'd still have Harapan to fall back on. And if Harapan were to reject him, he'd still have UMNO and gang supporting him. With so much support all around, he became over-confident. So imagine his shock when both sides decided to reject his unity government pipe dream.
It's interesting that Najib himself has responded to Dr M's spin on his resignation, pointing out: "He even ignored Harapan's request to have a meeting a day after he resigned to discuss how they could save the Harapan government."
This is what led Harapan to then change its PM candidate to Anwar. Because Dr M had abandoned them. It was only later that the were able to come together again to try to find common ground. Strangely, both DAP and Amanah were keen on having Dr M as Harapan's PM candidate once more. But that was stymied (rightly so) by PKR.
Eventually, DAP and Amanah came around to supporting Anwar again. And that's where we are at right now. I don't think it's a bad situation for Harapan. Together they have 91 MPs. What does Dr M have? A total of 6 MPs. If you lump Warisan in there, he has 15 MPs.
It's very clear who has the upper hand here, even if Dr M and Shafie refuse to recognize the reality of the situation. They are simply in no position to make any demands.
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