Agong Plays an Important Role in a Hung Parliament

 

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By Stephen Ng 

        WITH the 15th General Elections (GE15) currently underway, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has to make an important decision to decide who will be the 10th Malaysian prime minister, more so in the event of a hung Parliament.

        Currently, there are several possible scenarios of how the GE15 will pan out.

        Given the tight race, the chances of a hung parliament are high especially, with so many parties and collations out there wooing voters. This eventually makes it a tall order for the three main coalitions – Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) – to gain a two-thirds majority.

        At a glance, many candidates are bound to lose their deposits – especially the indies (independent candidates) who are “mosquito parties”, more so if the voters are steadfast in focusing their attention on the three main coalitions.

        As it is now, voters’ sentiments are not the same as in 2018. Their loyalty and allegiance towards their own favourite leaders play a role in who they will vote for instead of looking at the bigger picture.

        It is my humble opinion that whichever party has the majority and popular vote should be given the chance to govern the country.

        Since this represents the people’s mandate voting an entire bloc, politicians with smaller number of MPs will not be able to seize the opportunity to form the government when people could have voted them but not their opponents.

        What happened during the Sheraton Move is a lesson that we must all learn from; recall that a mass defection entailed within the ruling PH Government after a handful of elected representatives, including two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself, sparked the collapse of a government that was picked by the people.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

        This subsequently caused further instability in the country’s administration where Malaysia had had three prime ministers in a span of one election term (circa five years).

Inadequate

        Although the anti-hopping law has been passed by Parliament to address the issue of party hopping, it is inadequate to deal with parties or coalitions that decide to come together after the people had voted.

        While a minority government can be formed, the current political landscape allows parties to form pacts that can continue to change the government of the day.

        The situation is especially fluid if there is a hung parliament. There is no guarantee that the game of musical chairs would not continue until the politicians stop thinking of themselves (one even boasted that he initiated the Sheraton Move coup).

        Politicians have to place the rakyat’s interest above all else, otherwise, they should be voted out. It is time for the rakyat’s voice to be heard loud and clear.

        Short of a legislation that allows a minority government to run the government come Nov 20, the Agong would have to step in to pick the coalition that commands the highest number of seats.

        A most recent case is the Scottish National Party (SNP) which was short of only one seat, yet it was invited to form the minority government following the recent general election in 2021. Subsequently, the SNP was able to form a coalition government when it was joined by the Scottish Greens in August.

        There are countless other examples in other Western democracies that we can learn from.

        But, here in Malaysia, once the government is formed by the coalition with the highest number of parliamentary seats and people’s mandate, it is then in the hands of the Agong to accept or reject any further re-alignment of political parties to form a new coalition to take over.

        It is time for all Malaysians – especially politicians – to accept the people’s mandate and allow things to run smoothly for the sake of the nation and its people. – Nov 19, 2022  (as appeared in Focus)