KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Langkawi MP Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today was seen sitting among the federal Opposition MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, cementing his position as being in the Opposition despite also being from the ruling party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) whose president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is prime minister.

In a live feed by broadcaster RTM on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address this morning, Dr Mahathir was spotted sitting one seat apart from Opposition party Parti Amanah Negara’s Parit Buntar MP Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa and in front of Opposition party Parti Warisan Sabah’s Batu Sapi MP Datuk Liew Vui Keong.

In the live feed, Liew was seen seated directly in front of Dr Mahathir’s son and PPBM deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun MP), who in turn was directly seated in front of PPBM Youth chief and Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman.

An official seating plan for the Dewan Rakyat sitting today confirmed this arrangement, with both Dr Mahathir and Mujahid seated in the first row for the opposition MPs.

In the first row, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Port Dickson MP and the Opposition Leader, sat in the first seat in the front row for the opposition MPs, followed by Parti Amanah Negara and Kota Raja MP Mohamad Sabu, DAP secretary-general and Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, PKR’s Pandan MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP’s Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang, which was then followed by Mujahid and Dr Mahathir.

The official seating plan also showed PPBM’s Pagoh MP and PM Muhyiddin seated first in the front row for the ruling government’s MPs, followed by the four senior ministers in this order: PPBM’s Gombak MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Umno’s Bera MP Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Parti Pesaka Pribumi Bersatu’s (PBB) Petrajaya MP Datuk Seri Fadhillah Yusof, and senator Radzi Jidin; while Umno’s Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Umno’s Kuala Krau MP Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said rounded the first row for the ruling party.

Dr Mahathir had previously filed for a motion for a vote of no-confidence against Muhyiddin as the prime minister, but today’s Dewan Rakyat sitting did not feature any debates and was limited to just the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s delivery of the royal address due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in the country.

On April 20, Dr Mahathir who is also PPBM chairman had already noted that the political party was split into two factions — with one faction being in the federal government, while the other faction is part of the federal Opposition — that would not be sitting together in the Dewan Rakyat sitting.

"So, the faction against the government cannot sit together with the faction with the government.

"So, it should be among the Opposition together with Pakatan, but not as a member of Pakatan,” he was quoted in a report by local daily The Star.

For the PPBM faction that is part of the federal Opposition together with Pakatan Harapan, Dr Mahathir had said it would accept the Opposition Leader chosen by the Opposition MPs.

PPBM was formerly part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition that gained power in the May 2018 elections and with Dr Mahathir then appointed as its prime minister, but a political crisis in February 2020 — including PPBM’s pullout from the Pakatan Harapan coalition — resulted in a change of government.

Under the new government, PPBM’s Muhyiddin is the new prime minister, with PPBM now part of the new Perikatan Nasional coalition which includes Barisan Nasional and PAS and which is allied with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).