Put sentiments aside, unite and let's move forward - Shabery Cheek

24 Nov 2022 03:43pm

SHAH ALAM - The people, particularly the grassroots of political parties that make up the new unity government decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, need to come to their senses and put aside differences as shown by leaders from both sides of the divide as they begin to stand on a united front, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said.

Istana Negara in a statement today confirmed that Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is to be sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister to lead a unity government that will see PH and sworn enemies Barisan Nasional (BN), Warisan and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) uniting to form a ruling bloc.

This comes after the 15th general elections resulted in a stalemate with no party passing the required simple majority of 112 seats to form the government, although PH formed the largest bloc with 82 seats, while Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin-led Perikatan Nasional gained 73 seats. Both parties had announced in the wee hours of Dec 20 that they had secured the majority, but upon audiences with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for verification, none could prove their majority.

This had led to a hung parliament for the past five days and left the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the option to propose the formation of a unity government to party leaders, of which the leaders of PH, BN and GPS agreed to, while Muhyiddin rejected the idea on account of DAP being part of it. Umno's supreme council then decided last night that the party would adhere to the King's decree and take part in the formation of the unity government on condition that it was not led by Muhyiddin's PN.

Ahmad Shabery urged members to put their differences aside and look towards nation building as desired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong through the formation of a unity government.

"Umno has remained steadfast in our stand and campaign to bring stability and prosperity for the nation. We respect the people's decision towards us, but allowing the circumstances to continuously affect the stability of the nation. This is why Umno was ready to put aside previous sentiments and differences in order to achieve this. Moreover, this unity government was decreed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," said Ahmad Shabery.

"Elections are just a platform to execute a democratic process and it is evident that it didn't provide the solutions to all problems. But with this comes the beauty of having a higher power, which is a Constitutional Monarchy."

Asked whether such a coalition could withstand the test of time or merely a stop-gap, one-term solution given the circumstances, Ahmad Shabery remained optimistic, stating the process should be given a chance.

"Right now, we all need to have confidence in the solutions and direction pointed out by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Time will tell," he said.