Malaysian king express “disappointment with current political development; UMNO and PN leaders push blame to each other

Just this Monday (11 Oct), Malaysia Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Malaysia Parliament via a live speech at 3 pm.

This came as a surprise for some as the Malaysian government just announced its budget for 2023 last Friday.

Soon after the PM’s announcement, Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara, issued a press release.

He mentioned that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, has expressed his disappointment with the current political situation, and the King had no choice but to give his consent to the PM’s request to dissolve Parliament and return the mandate to the people.

The statement did not elaborate further on the reason for the King’s disappointment.

However, Al-Sultan Abdullah stressed that a strong nation is crucial to ensure political stability and economic prosperity for the continued well-being of the country and its people.

The King expressed hope that the Election Commission (EC) will schedule the Malaysia 15th General Election (GE15) in the near future by taking into account that Northeast Monsoon season expected in mid- November 2022.

EC had announced that a special meeting will be held on 20 October to decide the key date for GE 15, and followed by a press conference immediately after the meeting.

BN and PN have accused each other for causing the King’s disappointment

Leaders from Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) and Barisan National (National Front) had blamed each other for causing the King’s displeasure since the press release from the palace was made.

Ismail Sabri explained that he was “forced” to dissolute the parliament due to how 12 ministers had undermined his cabinet’s harmony by acting unwisely and writing to the King.

“Hence, this dissolution is to prevent disharmony from being created within the government administration.” claims Ismail, stating that action by these ministers had clearly undermined PM’s office which appointed with consent from YAP Agong.

“Their actions had also undermined the spirit of solidarity in the government administration.”

It is said that these 12 ministers from Perikatan National had written to Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 3 October to voice their disagreement to call for election this year due concerns over the year-end monsoon season, and put forth their recommendation to focus on economic recovery from COVID-19 Pendemic.

Ismail Sabri said that some members in his cabinet had openly criticized decisions and policies made by the government.

“Remark by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (chairman of Perikatan National) declared that the main enemy of PN was Barisan National had sowed the seed of division. ”

Ismail also accused Muhyiddin of urging the dissolution of Parliament, claiming the current government had failed to properly run the country and its economy.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin asked Ismail to “blame himself” for the backlash from the people who were disappointed that the election was called near to the flood season.

When speaking to reporter in Kota Kinabalu on Tuesday (11 Oct), Muhyiddin stressed that the Perikatan alliance was merely voicing the people’s views, and should not blame him or other cabinet members for the anger from the public.

He said that he had an agreement with Ismail Sabri when the latter became the PM, one of the conditions included having the PM discuss with PN members before the dissolution of the parliament, as Perikatan National was the biggest component in the government.

Ismail’s cabinet consists of 31 members, including 13 from Barisan National, 12 from Perikatan National, four from Sarawak Parties Coalition (GPS) and one each from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Parti Bangsa Malaysia.