King: I asked Dr M not to resign as PM but he stuck with his decision
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was asked not to resign but he went ahead with his decision, says the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah.
(The Star) – The King said, on Feb 24, the country was shaken by the resignation of the seventh prime minister.
Following which, an audience was granted to Dr Mahathir to discuss the matter.
“In the audience, I had asked Dr Mahathir not to resign. However, he stuck with his decision.
“Therefore, I am responsible to appoint a new prime minister as required by the Federal Constitution.
“Article 43 of the Constitution gives the discretionary powers to me to appoint a member of the Dewan Rakyat, who in my view, commands the majority support of the House,” said the King in his Royal address at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (May 18).
Following which, the King said he had met each MP from the Dewan Rakyat to determine their support of a rightful candidate.
On Feb 29, the King even asked each political party in the country to submit a name as their candidate for the prime minister’s post.
Based on the request from the head of political parties, the King said he had granted a request to extend the period for political parties to submit their nomination to the post so they have ample time to decide in a democratic manner.
“In every competition, there will be an ending. The political turmoil in the country cannot be allowed to be prolonged without an ending.
“Therefore, after going through all the processes and in line with the Federal Constitution, I found that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had the majority support of the members of the Dewan Rakyat.
“And therefore was rightfully appointed as the eighth Prime Minister,” he said.
