Anwar leads race to be Opposition’s pick for PM, but die likely already cast in Ismail Sabri’s favour
Pakatan Harapan (PH) and other Opposition parties would fully back PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be the next prime minister if he could get rival lawmakers to support his bid, sources said.
(MMO) – The sources and insiders privy to the negotiations confirmed to Malay Mail that Anwar currently has 105 federal lawmakers on his side, not enough for a simple majority.
A simple majority would usually be 111 in the 220-seat Parliament but was now 110 due to two vacancies that could not be filled due to the pandemic. Securing 111 MPs would, however, put the matter beyond doubt.
Warisan Youth’s chief and Sepanggar MP Datuk Azis Jamman revealed yesterday that his party’s support for Anwar was conditional on the latter being able to secure the additional lawmakers needed.
A PKR insider told Malay Mail that the condition was not just imposed by Warisan but also other Opposition parties and independent MPs as well.
“That is the case now. Anwar needs support from former Perikatan Nasional (PN) government MPs as well.
“Be it from Umno or even GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak), six MPs must support Anwar,” said the source.
