Malaysian King to meet political party leaders to get input on purported support, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday (Oct 13) that King Al-Sultan Abdullah would be calling all political party leaders to provide their input on the matter concerning their support for him.

This follows Mr Anwar's royal audience with the Malaysian king which took place at Istana Negara earlier on Tuesday.

Mr Anwar also claimed he has the majority of more than 120 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat (the Malaysian Parliamant's lower house).

"As promised in my previous press conference, I have fulfilled my part in presenting to His Majesty the documents in regards to a formidable majority of elected representatives that are in support of me.

"I therefore urge all parties to give His Majesty an opportunity and space to fulfill his responsibilities in accordance with the Federal Constitution to go through the documents with Tuanku's wisdom and to call political party leaders to affirm said documents," he told a press conference at Le Meridien Hotel.

When asked, Mr Anwar said the documents comprised statutory declarations and affirmed documents from political party leaders.

Mr Anwar’s audience on Tuesday was to convince the Malaysian king that he has enough support from MPs to take over the running of the government from Mr Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN).

On Sept 23, Mr Anwar claimed to have a “strong, convincing” majority of MPs said to be backing him in his bid to unseat the PN administration.

But scepticism over Mr Anwar's challenge remains as no major party has offered a clear declaration of support. One party, which is a member of the ruling coalition, has said some of its lawmakers supported Mr Anwar.

"Should the meeting fail to translate into an actionable outcome, his credibility will be affected and this may push the opposition bloc to find another PM candidate," said Mr Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, senior associate at political consultancy Vriens & Partners.

Mr Muhyiddin, whose seven-month-old administration has survived on a razor-thin parliamentary majority, had earlier dismissed Mr Anwar's claims as a "mere allegation" and told him to prove his majority through a constitutional process.

Leaders in Mr Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional coalition issued a statement on Monday declaring full support for Mr Muhyiddin.

Previously, Mr Muhyiddin affirmed that he remained the rightful prime minister until a time that Mr Anwar could demonstrate that he has gained the confidence of the majority of federal lawmakers. AGENCIES