'Enough is enough': Johor Sultan speaks out against efforts to derail political stability in Malaysia

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has expressed concern over the recent “incessant reports regarding the stability of the current (Malaysian) government”. 

This is despite it being six months since the 15th General Election (GE) was held in November last year.

“The rakyat (citizens) placed high hopes in the recent GE and voted for 222 representatives to bring back political stability to the country.

“But until today, the 222 Members of Parliament (MPs) cannot get on the same page with efforts made to derail the stability that is being carefully built,” said Sultan Ibrahim in a Facebook post on Wednesday (May 3) evening.

He added: “This is not healthy for the entire nation, whether socially, economically or even our standing internationally.”

Sultan Ibrahim also stressed that Malaysia’s economy needs to recover and that its prosperity “be prioritised”. 

“Enough is enough. How long more must the 30 over million people of our country endure this situation? The economy must recover and Malaysia’s prosperity must be prioritised,” he said. 

Claims of political instability were rife when a report published by news portal The Vibes on April 24 alleged that there were plans to remove Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim from his position via by-elections among Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs who did not support him.

According to the report, several BN MPs were being wooed and persuaded to quit their parties and sacrifice their seats. The MPs would then reportedly seek re-election under the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner. 

Following this, Mr Anwar said on Monday that the parties in his unity government are strong enough to defend against any plot to topple the government. 

“As far as we can see, the position (of the government) is quite strong,” Mr Anwar was quoted as saying by Bernama. 

He also told reporters that the four political coalitions in the unity government - BN, Pakatan Harapan (PH), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) - have expressed their commitment to defend the unity government. 

In March this year, local media reported Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) president Abdul Hadi Awang as saying that based on Malaysia’s democratic system, no one had the right to stop PN’s efforts to topple the government of the day. 

PAS is a component party of the PN coalition.

Mr Abdul Hadi said that such an attempt can be done either through a vote of no-confidence or via statutory declarations, according to Bernama.

Mr Anwar was sworn in as prime minister on Nov 24 last year after the 15th General Election failed to produce a clear winner.

He leads a unity government comprising his PH coalition and the previous ruling coalition BN, among other parties. Other parties and coalitions that currently back the unity government include GPS, GRS and Parti Warisan.