By Muammar Hadi
GOMBAK, 24 November 2022: Anwar Ibrahim, the first in line to lead the country during the boom years of the 1990s before being fired and imprisoned, has been sworn in as Malaysia’s tenth prime minister, marking an extraordinary comeback.
A few hours after being appointed to the top position by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the 75-year-old experienced lawmaker took the oath of office in front of the monarch at the palace in Kuala Lumpur soon after 5.00 p.m today.
After Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition won the most seats in the weekend election but fell short of the required 112 MPs, the monarch assumed charge of selecting a new government.
Negotiations to form a government started by both PH and the rival conservative Malay-Muslim Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition led by the former prime minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, which received the second-highest number of votes.
Both Anwar and Muhyiddin were unable to reach an agreement when meeting the monarch with the newly elected members of parliament to get their opinions on who should lead the new administration.
Anwar was named as the leader following a gathering of the royal households on Thursday (24th November) because the monarch believed he had the backing of the majority of Malaysia’s 222 parliament members.
The monarch urged all politicians to cooperate for the nation’s good, saying there were no winners and no losers.
After his inauguration, Anwar promised to carry out the responsibilities assigned to him and his team with utmost humility and based on the hopes of the people. ***