GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has congratulated Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for being appointed as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
"I welcome the news that the Agong has appointed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister after five days. The whole country wants to see a new government formed.
"After the 15th General Election (GE15), the country fell into a hung parliament. This decision requires the wisdom of all parties to reach a decision to establish a unity government that is still waiting for its formation.
"So far we are still waiting but at least the mandate was given to Datuk Seri Anwar to form a unity government under his leadership," he told reporters at the state assembly building in Lebuh Light on Thursday (Nov 24).
Chow added that the decision would be welcomed by the majority of the people in the country.
"I believe this is a decision that will be welcomed by the majority of people in Malaysia who consider this a new direction from what happened in GE15.
"I believe that Datuk Seri Anwar will have a plan to strengthen the administration and that the people will support him.
"This is the reason why a general election is held. We are ready for a new chapter in history so that Malaysia can move forward again," he said.
On behalf of the Penang government, Chow congratulated Anwar and stated that the state government would work hand in hand with the newly elected Prime Minister.
"We are ready to work together as a team to ensure that the state continues to move forward and that Malaysia will open a new chapter.
"This is what we wanted at this political juncture of our history," he said.
In Perak, the state Pakatan chief said the appointment of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gave new hope to all Malaysians who wanted a strong and stable government.
Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa congratulated the PKR president as the 10th prime minister and said the people in the state were also proud to have the Prime Minister from Perak.
"May this good news be accompanied by feelings of gratitude to Allah SWT, and the people of Perak pray for the well-being of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah," he said in a short statement.
Anwar, who was Pakatan Harapan chairman, was expected to be sworn in as the 10th prime minister.
The palace in a statement said Anwar would be sworn in at 5pm on Thursday (Nov 24).
The failure of political parties in Malaysia to reach a consensus following the conclusion of the GE15 forced the nation to be without a government for five days.
In GE15, Pakatan won 82 seats, Perikatan won 73, and Barisan won 30 seats in GE15.
