King to give political leaders opportunity to nominate PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Following the political turmoil in the country, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah will give party leaders who have MPs in the Dewan Rakyat the opportunity to nominate a prime minister.

Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement that this was because the King has yet to determine which MPs command the majority support in the Dewan Rakyat to form a new government.

He said that the King will continue to find a solution in line with the Federal Constitution in the interests of the people and the country.

"The Istana Negara will meet with the leadership of political parties that are represented in the Dewan Rakyat, to give them a chance to nominate a lawmaker as their pick for the prime minister post," he said in a statement on Friday (Feb 28).

In an unprecedented move, the King met almost all MPs over two days to determine who commands the confidence of the majority.

This is following Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's shocking resignation as the prime minister on Monday (Feb 24).

Later that day, the King appointed Dr Mahathir as the interim prime minister after accepting his resignation letter.

The Agong also consented to the decision by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Yusof not to hold a special Parliament sitting to determine who will be prime minister on March 2.

The King also thanked all 221-lawmakers and the Chief Secretary to the Government and those involved in the interview process that began on Feb 25.

Earlier, the Malay Rulers convened a meeting at Istana Negara here with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Johor palace motorcade was seen entering the main entrance gate of the Istana Negara at 9.30am on Friday.

Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and his entourage arrived at the Istana Negara at about 10.50am.

At about 10.55am Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) chief Tan Sri Affendi Buang and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador arrived.

Kelantan was represented by Tengku Mahkota Kelantan Dr Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra, who arrived at 11.09am.

The official car the Raja of Perlis was seen entering at 11.10am followed by Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah at 11.15am.

Soon after, the Kedah's Sultan Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah arrived followed by the official car of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.

The Sultan of Terengganu's official car arrived at 11.24am and was followed by the Sultan of Perak's motorcade.

A heavy police presence could be seen at the vicinity of the palace.

The motorcades of the Sultan of Terengganu, Johor, Kedah and Raja Perlis left at about 1pm before the Friday prayers.

The rest were seen to leave the Istana Negara after 3pm.

The media has been keeping watch outside Istana Negara since news broke about the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government on Sunday (Feb 23).