All eyes on Istana Negara ahead of PM10’s swearing-in ceremony

KUALA LUMPUR – In less than two hours before the swearing-in ceremony at Istana Negara today, the Palace once again becomes the centre of attraction.

As of 3pm, several media practitioners had gathered outside the Gate 2 of Istana Negara to ahead of the ceremony scheduled to be at 5pm.

Earlier, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had consented for Pakatan Harapan president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be the 10th Prime Minister.

This was decided after a special conference with the Malay Rulers earlier today.

Malaysians had waited anxiously for the prime minister’s appointment following 15th General Election on Nov 19.

Malaysia has entered a stalemate after none of the parties which stood in GE15 last Saturday won enough parliamentary seats to form a government.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the most seats at 82, followed by Perikatan Nasional (PN): 73; Barisan Nasional (BN): 30; Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS): 22; Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS): 7 and others: 6.

The impasse occurred as parties needed to at least secure 112 parliamentary seats to form government as Malaysia has a total of 222 parliamentary seats.