Recap: From Sheraton Move to dissolution in 22 episodes

The past few years have been a blur of one political crisis after another, triggered by the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government - in what we now know as the Sheraton Move - in February 2020.

To get you up to speed ahead of nomination day this weekend, here are your Cliffs Notes of 22 key events that took place since then until the dissolution of Parliament last month.

February 2020: Sheraton Move

A group of MPs from PAS, PKR, Bersatu, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Umno and Warisan met at Sheraton Hotel, Petaling Jaya, to discuss the formation of a new government.

The day after, amid more political manoeuvring, prime minister and Bersatu chairperson, Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned.

Bersatu, led by its president Muhyiddin Yassin, left the Harapan coalition, along with 11 MPs from PKR.

Ten PKR MPs, led by Azmin Ali (Gombak) also defected:

1. Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang)

2. Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota)

3. Baru Bian (Selangau)

4. Kamaruddin Jaffar (Bandar Tun Razak)

5. Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal)

6. Rashid Hasnon (Batu Pahat)

7. Edmund Santhara Kumar (Segamat)

8. Ali Biju (Saratok)

9. Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo)

10. Jonathan Yasin (Ranau)

Mahathir was appointed interim PM and attempted to push an idea of a unity government where all parties in Parliament would take part in the government - but this was rejected by various parties. The scramble to form alliances to gain a majority and form a government ensued.

Significance: The Pakatan Harapan government collapsed.

Feb 29, 2020: Muhyiddin is PM, Perikatan Nasional formed

After interviewing all MPs, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong announced that Muhyiddin has the support of the majority of MPs.

The Muhyiddin-led government was formed, consisting of:

1) Bersatu

2) BN

3) PAS

4) Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)

5) Star

But the actual number of MPs who supported Muhyiddin was not revealed until Parliament convened in May, when it was shown that he had a wafer-thin majority of two MPs, commanding support from only 114 MPs of the House.

This laid down the groundwork for the formation of Perikatan Nasional (PN), which was registered in August of that year.

The realignment of political allegiances among the parties also meant that Harapan lost the majority in four states: Johor, Malacca, Perak and Kedah.

Significance: After being shockingly defeated at the federal polls for the first time in 2018, BN returned to federal power two years later.

March 18, 2020: Covid-19 lockdown

The number of Covid-19 cases surged from 20 to 3,000 cases, following an outbreak involving a religious gathering in the Klang Valley. A two-week lockdown was announced, but movement control continued for about two years, albeit with a gradual relaxation over time.

July 30 to Sept 26, 2020: Sabah political crisis and Anwar’s numbers

Sabah chief minister and Warisan president Shafie Apdal sought dissolution of the state assembly after Sabah Umno leader Musa Aman said he secured the support of the majority of assemblypersons by way of statutory declarations. This meant there had been defections.

By calling for snap polls, Shafie hoped to regain the mandate of the people but in September, the Harapan ally’s gambit backfired.

Gabungan Rakyat Sabah - a coalition made up of Umno, Bersatu and Star - won a simple majority of 38 seats. Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Md Noor was appointed chief minister, with state Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin as his deputy.

Three days before polling in Sabah, Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim announced he has ”the numbers” to prove Muhyiddin has lost the majority in Parliament. But this never materialised and did not sway the Sabah results.

Following the PN-allied victory in Sabah, Gerakan joined PN.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases spiked following campaigning in Sabah, which involved travel and co-mingling of campaigners from throughout Malaysia.

Significance: Umno returned to power in Sabah, dealing a blow against Harapan’s confidence to regain Putrajaya.

Jan 21 to July 26, 2021: A state of emergency

A state of emergency was declared ostensibly to deal with rising Covid-19 cases, but the move was controversial because it suspended Parliament. As such, a motion of no confidence against the PM, to prove he had lost the majority support of the House, could not take place.

It also placed restrictions against freedom of speech, which commentators said curtailed dissent.

Even so, some political dealings continued, and on Feb 28, PKR lost another two MPs - Julau’s Larry Sng and Tebrau’s Steven Choong.

Significance: The political crisis was mostly arrested in a state of suspended motion.

May 2021: Umno threatens to withdraw support

The Umno general assembly empowered the party leadership to decide to withdraw support from Muhyiddin as PM or to quit the PN government at any time.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party would quit the government if a general election was not held soon.

Significance: Muhyiddin's days as PM were numbered.

July 21 to Aug 21, 2021: Muhyiddin loses support, Ismail Sabri becomes PM

Umno withdrew support for Muhyiddin, three months after threatening to do so if polls are not called.

It did so the day after Umno leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed deputy prime minister - which was Muhyiddin’s move to placate Umno.

A total of 15 Umno MPs declared they had no confidence in Muhyiddin as prime minister.

Earlier, Muhyiddin also tried to shore support from the opposition bench by offering reforms, but he was rebuffed.

Out of moves, Muhyiddin conceded he had lost the majority and resigned as prime minister. Ismail Sabri took over as PM.

Nevertheless, the PN coalition remained intact with Muhyiddin's Bersatu throwing support behind Ismail Sabri. As a peace offering, Muhyiddin was appointed chairperson of the National Recovery Council.

Sept 12, 2021: A bi-partisan MOU

Ismail Sabri and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim signed a memorandum of understanding for the opposition to support the government on key reforms, including:

• The Anti-Party Hopping Bill

• Equal membership in parliamentary committees

• Consultation on every bill

• Giving the opposition leader the same amenities as a cabinet minister

• Limiting a prime minister's term to 10 years

• Speeding up an amendment for 18-year-olds to vote and stand in elections

The MOU brought political stability without the PM losing the majority on voting for any bills in Parliament. It also sped up the process of key reforms.

Significance: A period of relative political stability began as the focus was no longer to topple the government.

Nov 21, 2021: Malacca crisis

Malacca changed hands from Harapan to PN after the Sheraton Move, with Umno's Sulaiman Md Ali appointed chief minister.

But snap polls were called after four assemblypersons withdrew support for Sulaiman. They were:

• Idris Haron (Sungai Udang)

• Nor Azman (Pantai Kundor)

• Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu)

• Noor Effendi Ahmad (Telok Mas)

Despite cooperation at the federal level, BN and PN were on opposing sides in this state election. This resulted in a landslide BN victory.

Harapan was also washed out and Idris was forced to eat crow, after losing as a Harapan candidate. The three others were also defeated.

Sulaiman returned as CM.

Significance: BN’s power grew while Harapan continued to lose gains made in 2018

Dec 18, 2021: Sarawak election

The Sarawak polls, postponed due to the state’s declaration of emergency for Covid-19, took place once the declaration was lifted in November.

GPS - a PN member - won 76 out of 82 seats contested.

Significance: BN’s winning streak continued to deplete any hope of Harapan’s return to Putrajaya

Dec 15, 2021: Undi18, automatic registration gazetted

Amendments to the law lowering the minimum age of voters from 21 to 18, as well as automatic voter registration, came into effect.

The constitutional amendment was gazetted in November 2021, more than two years after it was tabled by the Harapan government and passed unanimously in Parliament in July 2019.

Significance: A total of 6.23 million new voters were added to the roll, bringing the total to 21.17 million. Of that, 1.4 million are aged under 21.

Dec 21 to March 12, 2022: Johor crisis

Johor menteri besar Hasni Mohamad lost his majority of just one seat when Kempas assemblyperson Osman Sapian died on Dec 12, 2021, paving the way for the dissolution of the state assembly.

Having lost Umno’s birth state in 2018, BN clawed back to a two-thirds majority, leaving Harapan with just 12 seats.

PN won just three seats, a setback as Johor is its chairperson Muhyiddn’s home state. Muda made its debut, winning its first seat in a state election through Amira Aisya Abd Aziz in Puteri Wangsa.

Despite leading BN to a stunning victory, Hasni was not reappointed MB, signalling a fissure within Umno. Instead Umno blue blood Onn Hafiz, the great-grandchild of Umno founder Onn Jaafar, took the post.

Significance: Muda won its first state seat, BN via Umno expanded prowess.

Feb 21, 2022: Russia invades Ukraine

Russia invaded Ukraine, causing multiple crises across the world. In Malaysia, this led to inflation, including fast-rising costs of basic food like chicken and eggs, and medicine.

By October, headline inflation hit a high of four percent.

Significance: Economic and political pressure increased against Ismail Sabri.

March to October 2022: Umno crisis

Pressure to call an election saw a fissure appear in Umno, leading to two camps - those supporting president Zahid and the others backing Ismail Sabri.

The split came to a head when Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was suspended from Umno, after attacking the president.

Amid the fracture, Tajudin claimed Zahid previously signed a statutory declaration to support Anwar as PM.

Anwar responded by saying Zahid and Najib did this but he rejected their support because, in return, they wanted him to intervene in their corruption cases pending in court.

Significance: Ismail Sabri’s days as PM were numbered.

April to July 2022: PKR election

Rafizi Ramli returned to active politics by winning the PKR deputy president race.

He also launched a nationwide road tour, Ayuh Malaysia, to rejuvenate sentiments among Harapan voters, which have waned amid recurring crises.

Significance: Rafizi’s return may have helped overcome the mood slump among Harapan stalwarts.

May 26, 2022: Zuraida quits Bersatu

Zuraida left Bersatu, and along with her lieutenants, joined Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), where she was declared president-designate. This was Zuraida’s second party shift since the Sheraton Move when she quit PKR for Bersatu.

However, this culminated in a leadership tussle in October, when PBM’s founding president Larry Sng insisted he never gave way to Zuraida.

Interestingly, despite quitting Bersatu, Zuraida remained in Ismail Sabri’s cabinet.

Significance: Disarray within Bersatu became public.

May 2022: Ringgit depreciation

Alarm bells rang as the ringgit fell lower than RM3.80 to US$1, the amount pegged during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/8.

This led to higher costs of household goods, many of which are imported, but the government dismissed concerns as cyclical and temporary.

The ringgit was the worst hit of all Southeast Asian currencies and continued to slide against the greenback.

Significance: Pressure piled on Ismail Sabri as PM.

August 2022: Mahathir’s new coalition - Gerakan Tanah Air

Mahathir formed Gerakan Tanah Air, an alliance of his party, Pejuang and smaller parties, Putra (led by Ibrahim Ali), Berjasa and Indian Muslim party, Iman.

Significance: This signalled that Mahathir was unlikely to join hands with Harapan in GE15.

Aug 23, 2022: Najib convicted

Najib was convicted of corruption by the Federal Court. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million for charges related to SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

Significance: Public political interest rejuvenated after a period of fatigue.

Sept 2022: Muhyiddin attacks Ismail Sabri

Muhyiddin launched an open attack against Ismail Sabri for poor economic governance, a move seen as sabotage from Umno allies.

Significance: Federal political pact between PN and BN becomes unlikely.

Oct 5, 2022: Anti-hopping law comes into force

The anti-hopping law, which forces a by-election in the event of the defection of an elected representative, came into force.

This was one of the key reforms as part of the MOU between Harapan and Ismail Sabri’s government.

Significance: It would be harder to topple a government through defections after GE15.

Oct 10, 2022: Parliament dissolved

Parliament was dissolved, but leaders from PAS and Harapan-led states, as well as Sabah and Sarawak, will not follow suit to dissolve their state assemblies.

This meant that only Pahang, Perlis and Perak will hold state elections alongside this 15th general election.

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