Mahathir Has No Power To Make Anwar The Prime Minister

Mahathir has no power to make Anwar the prime minister. Only the 222 MPs have that power. Mahathir could not even make himself the prime minister on 1st March 2020. And if Mahathir has the power to make anyone prime minister, he would already have made his son, Mukhriz, the prime minister.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Pakatan Harapan spin-doctor, Mariam Mokhtar, accused prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin of stealing her vote. Maybe she can tell us where she voted on 9th May 2018 and who she voted for because I was told she was in the UK and did not vote during GE14. In that case, how can she accuse Muhyiddin of stealing her vote when she did not even vote?

Actually, only 12 million Malaysians voted during GE14. Another three million registered voters did not vote and about 3.5 million Malaysians who were eligible to vote did not register to vote. Hence a total of 6.5 million Malaysians who could have voted did not vote.

Out of those 15 million registered voters or 18.5 million Malaysians who were eligible to vote in GE14, only 5.5 million voted for Pakatan Harapan. In other words, 13 million Malaysians who were eligible to vote DID NOT vote for Pakatan Harapan.

Only 5.5 million Malaysians voted for Pakatan Harapan while another 13 million did not

So, there you have it. Only 5.5 million Malaysians voted for Pakatan Harapan while another 13 million Malaysians who were eligible to vote DID NOT vote for Pakatan Harapan.

But the Pakatan Harapan people rant, rave and scream as if they garnered 100% of the votes. No, they did not garner 100% of the votes. They garnered only 29% of the votes. The other 71% DID NOT vote for Pakatan Harapan.

Back in GE13 in 2013, Anwar Ibrahim said Barisan Nasional was not the legitimate government because they did not receive more than 50% of the votes.

That was partly true. In 2013, Barisan Nasional won only 47% of the popular votes while Pakatan Rakyat won 51% of the votes. But then Barisan Nasional won 133 parliament seats while Pakatan Rakyat won only 89 seats. And 133 seats are higher than 89 seats. And it is seats and not votes that decide the government.

His Majesty the Agong decides who becomes prime minister based on how many of the 222 MPs support you

In 2013, the party or coalition that won the highest number of seats formed the government. In 2018, the same thing happened, which is why Pakatan Harapan got to form the government. On 1st March 2020, when the equation changed and Perikatan Nasional ended up with the highest number of seats in parliament, the government changed.

That is how the Westminster or first-past-the-post system that Malaysia uses works. Malaysia has 222 parliament constituencies and the party or coalition that owns 112 constituencies and above gets to form the government and they decide amongst themselves who they want as the prime minister.

How come the Pakatan Harapan people, even people like Anwar Ibrahim, do not seem to know this? Do they really not know this or are they being dishonest and are lying to their ignorant supporters? Takkanlah ramai sangat rakyat Malaysia bodoh dan senang ditipu!

Mahathir has no power to make Anwar the prime minister even if he wanted to

Malaysians need to get it into their thick heads that they have no say as to who becomes the prime minister. Their job every four or five years is to vote for the candidate contesting in their constituency. That is all.

Once the 222 members of parliament are confirmed, they have to decide amongst themselves who they support as prime minister. The person who gets sworn in as prime minister will be one of those 222 MPs who in Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s opinion commands the confidence of the majority of the House (meaning 112 MPs or more).

Votes have nothing to do with it. And whether your party or coalition owns the highest number of seats also has nothing to do with it. It is whether 112 MPs or more support you to become the prime minister. That is how the post of prime minister is decided.

In this case, His Majesty the Agong does not care how many votes Muhyiddin won in GE14. In fact, Muhyiddin won only 23,558 votes. And the Prime Minister before him, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, won even less with just 18,954 votes. So, if based on votes, then neither Mahathir nor Muhyiddin can be prime minister.

Muafakat Nasional is the real kingmaker in Malaysian politics, which is why Muhyiddin is prime minister

The question here is, how many of the 222 MPs are behind you? Can you get at least 112 MPs to support you? Better still, can you get at least 125-130 MPs to support you? If the answer is yes, then you become the prime minister. Votes and how many seats your party owns have nothing to do with it.

Hence when the Pakatan Harapan people talk about majority votes, or Muhyiddin stole their votes, or illegitimate prime minister, or backdoor government, and so on, they are being very dishonest with you and me.

Pakatan Harapan says Mahathir promised he will stay for just two years and then hand the post of prime minister to Anwar Ibrahim.

Mahathir has no power to make Anwar the prime minister. Only the 222 MPs have that power. Mahathir could not even make himself the prime minister on 1st March 2020. And if Mahathir has the power to make anyone prime minister, he would already have made his son, Mukhriz, the prime minister.