Barisan Nasional MPs meet ahead of palace deadline as alliances to form Malaysian government remain unclear

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) members of parliament (MPs) are believed to be having a meeting with the coalition’s supreme council on Tuesday (Nov 22) morning, just hours before a 2pm deadline set by the king for all parties to present their numbers to form the next government.

BN is now seen as a kingmaker after the 15th general election (GE15) result saw a hung parliament scenario, with both Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalitions in the running to form a new government.

At around 10.30am, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) vice-president Khaled Nordin, Sabah BN chief Bung Moktar Radin, Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) deputy president M Saravanan were seen entering the UMNO headquarters building.

Simpang Renggam MP and former Johor chief minister Hasni Mohamad were also seen entering the building at around 11.05am. None of the politicians spoke to the media.

Jelebu MP Jaliludin Alias told reporters that a statement will be released by the secretary-general of BN soon.

"We did not sign any statutory declarations at the meeting today," he told reporters as he exited the building.

UMNO, MCA and MIC are component parties of BN. 

"Barisan MPs are invited to attend the meeting with the supreme council at 11am," said the coalition’s executive secretary Mohamad Sahfri Ab Aziz in a statement on Monday, according to the Star.

PH, led by Anwar Ibrahim, was the top performer in Saturday’s electoral contest, clinching 81 seats. An additional seat won by Malaysian United Democratic Alliance's (MUDA) Syed Saddiq took this tally to 82. 

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin's PN trailed with 73 seats, which means neither coalition had the numbers for an outright majority of 112 seats in a 222-seat parliament.

BN finished a distant third behind PH and PN, winning 30 parliamentary seats.

Both leading coalitions are courting potential partners to amass the numbers needed to form the government. 

The king had initially set a Monday, 2pm deadline for coalitions to present their numbers to form the government and propose their prime minister candidates. The deadline was later extended to Tuesday, 2pm.

Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) said on Sunday that it was ready to enter a coalition with PN, BN and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). GPS won 23 seats while GRS won six seats. However, BN denied that negotiations had taken place.  

The coalition issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it leaves it to the discretion of the king to appoint a prime minister who will lead a strong government to govern the country. 

“GPS insists that the importance of the country is prioritised and the establishment of a stable government takes into account the interests of the people and the country above personal interests,” according to the statement.

On Monday, PH and BN leaders met at the Seri Pacific hotel to discuss the formation of the new government. Mr Anwar said later that he was very pleased with the progress of the discussions.

However, there are signs of dissent within BN on whether it should enter into a pact with PH. 

BN deputy president Mohamad Hasan wrote on Facebook that BN accepts the decision of the people. 

“So we don't have the power to establish a government. I suggest let PN and PH merge (to form the) government because they have the higher number of votes,” he said on Monday.

Former UMNO vice president Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly said that he rejects any cooperation with PH and is willing to be sacked by the party for his stance.

Dr Wee of MCA was quoted as saying by the Star on Monday that his party was not involved in any talks for a post-electoral pact between BN and PH. 

“As the MCA president and Barisan (Nasional) vice-chairman, I was never consulted or informed directly,” he reportedly said.