King won't entertain coup attempts, tells politicians to wait for next GE

PARLIAMENT | Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar this morning told MPs from both sides of the political divide that he would not entertain any attempt to topple the government.

In his royal decree during the opening of Dewan Rakyat's new session today, the king said everyone should respect the coalition government that has been formed.

"I wish to stress here that I will not entertain any request from any party who tries to disrupt the country's political stability.

"All parties must accept the reality and respect the unity government that has been formed. Should any of you want to play politics, then wait until the next election," he said.

Sultan Ibrahim urged all MPs to work together towards building the nation and serving the rakyat as the country's success or failure should be on the shoulders of every elected representative.

"In my eyes, the success or failure of this country is not only on the shoulders of the prime minister alone, but all members of the Dewan Rakyat who have been given the responsibility by the rakyat to represent them.

"As everyone knows, my priority is the living conditions of over 33 million Malaysians. Thus, I hope that all Yang Berhormat will focus on helping the rakyat instead of working for your political party or your personal interests," he added.

The king’s remarks came weeks after allegations surfaced that the opposition was planning another coup attempt.

Since the 14th general election in 2018 - which saw the BN ruling coalition defeated for the first time in 60 years - Malaysia had witnessed constant political realignment and coup attempts.

The political instability had led to three different prime ministers leading the country in a single Parliament term.

From Sheraton to Dubai

The first coup happened in 2020 when Bersatu, along with 11 MPs from PKR, left the Pakatan Harapan coalition to form a new government with several other parties including Umno.

Dubbed the Sheraton Move, the political manoeuvre caused the collapse of the then Harapan government and the resignation of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its prime minister.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin then took over the office as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister, with the support of his new coalition named Perikatan Nasional and several other parties, including from Sabah and Sarawak.

In August 2021, Muhyiddin was forced to resign as prime minister following divisions between him and Umno.

He was replaced by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who managed to secure some political stability through a memorandum of understanding with Harapan until the 15th general election in November 2022.

The general election results came back with no single party or coalition having enough numbers to form the government on its own.

The inability of political parties to secure enough cooperation to cross the 112 MPs threshold had created an impasse, before the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah decreed for a unity government to be formed.

The call was heeded by Harapan, Umno, Sarawak’s GPS, and several other parties which then formed a government with Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister, while Muhyiddin-led PN decided to stay as the opposition.

Rumours about a change of administration - or prime minister - started as soon as Harapan allied with BN to form the federal government following the general election.

In May 2023, there were rumours of alleged attempts to force by-elections in BN-held seats with the elected representatives quitting their parties.

Another rumour surfaced in late 2023 when Community Communications Department deputy director Ismail Yusop claimed the opposition was planning a “Dubai Move” to topple Anwar’s administration.

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