Malaysia election 2022: King to meet BN MPs to determine if Anwar or Muhyiddin will be PM

Sultan Abdullah will interview all 30 MPs from the kingmaker Barisan Nasional bloc on Wednesday after Muhyiddin rejected his proposal of a unity government

Anwar said the monarch had directed that the new government ‘represent all parties, all races, religions and regions’, and added the royal would take his time to reach a decision

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Anwar Ibrahim leaves after meeting Malaysia’s king at the National Palace on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:39pm, 22 Nov 2022Updated: 10:25pm, 22 Nov 2022

There was no clear path towards the resolution of Malaysia’s post-election political impasse on Tuesday after the king’s unity government proposal was rebuffed by one of the prime ministerial contenders.

Not for the first time, the constitutional monarch, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has been thrust into a troubleshooting role following the emergence of a hung parliament in the aftermath of Saturday’s election.

The king on Tuesday afternoon summoned the top two prime ministerial contenders, Anwar Ibrahim and Muhyiddin Yassin, after earlier directing all major coalition leaders to submit their nominees for Malaysia’s top political post.

Following the meeting at the National Palace, former prime minister Muhyiddin said Sultan Abdullah had proposed that both leaders form a unity government.

Perikatan Nasional leader Muhyiddin Yassin says working with Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan is out of the question. Photo: Bernama/dpa

Muhyiddin, leader of the conservative Malay-Muslim Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance, said his bloc had resolved “from the beginning” not to work with Anwar’s multiracial Pakatan Harapan (PH) bloc.