PETALING JAYA, May 10 — Insisting he has got the support of 135 members of Parliament, Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad hopes he can be sworn in as the seventh prime minister by 5pm today.
Dr Mahathir said there is great urgency to swear in a new head of government for the country to function.
“We must form a government because right now there is no government of Malaysia.
“When you say you have no government, that means no law, no rule of law. No institutions. In the eyes of the law, we don’t exist.
“There is a lot of work to be done. You know the mess the country is in and we need to attend to this mess as soon as possible. We expect today that I will be sworn in as prime minister,” he said at a news conference at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya hotel that was also broadcast “live” on television.
The Langkawi MP, who yesterday won with a 8,893 majority, admitted that the delay of the swearing-in ceremony was caused by a general lack of understanding over the Federal Constitution.
“There has been some confusion but we have cleared it all up. This is the rule. We don’t talk about parties. Agong will base his decisions on the support of the majority of the MPs,” he said.
Article 40 (2) (a) stated that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may act at his discretion to perform the appointment of a Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, Article 43 (2) stated that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint a Prime Minister to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgement is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House.
Dr Mahathir said although it is unnecessary according to the laws, the leaders of Pakatan Harapan’s four component parties have written a letter asking for all MPs belonging to the coalition to sign and declare their support for the candidate initially chosen as prime minister.
“All the parties have signed the letter and we will deliver this to the Agong, although this is not a requirement for naming a prime minister.
“The requirement is based on the number of MPs who will sign. This includes all the MPs under Pakatan plus MPs under Parti Warisan Sabah and other individuals from Sabah. They have all signed the same declaration that supports aforenamed candidate.
“You may have heard of this said candidate. He goes by the name of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” the nonagenarian said in humour.
He added the letter is also asking for the Agong to hold a swearing-in ceremony promptly.
“As soon as this is done, we can call for the parliament to sit and make certain decisions that are necessary in the first phase of forming a new government,” he said.
