Penang Forum congratulates Anwar Ibrahim on becoming Prime Minister of Malaysia.
So far, the PM has set the tone for his new administration by commendably shunning extravagant spending, especially in his choice of official car, saving the government a large sum of money. He also wants to trim ministerial pay and slim down the cabinet to reflect the new administration’s commitment to financial prudence.
It was an emotional rollercoaster, from polling night on 19 November to the announcement at lunch time on 24 November – five days of hope and despair to find out who would form the next government.
Share with us your thoughts on Anwar’s cabinet line-up, due to be unveiled at 8.15pm. In particular, should Zahid Hamidi and other ‘court cluster’ politicians be included in the line-up?
I thought Anwar Ibrahim spoke brilliantly when he addressed civil servants from the prime minister’s office this morning – though of course he had his own chequered past when in government in the 1990s.
Finally, after over two decades of persevering in the wilderness, including long spells in prison, Anwar Ibrahim today becomes the new Prime Minister of Malaysia. The challenges are many, but for now we can begin a new journey of hope in a land with so much potential. Read this piece by JD Lovrenciear: Malaysia takes off with newfound hope as Anwar is appointed PM
As the leader of the coalition with the most number of seats, Anwar Ibrahim must be given the first chance to form a government and enough time to carry out proper negotiations. This is by convention. It is only if he fails that the leader of the coalition with the second highest number of seats should be given the opportunity to form the government.
An Aliran team of political scientists and analysts will be providing immediate reactions, analyses and insights from as the general election results roll out.
Follow the commentary on the Aliran website here.
The Great Malaysian Race to convey overseas postal ballots to the various returning offices in Malaysia is underway. Witness the people’s mobilisation to ensure these ballots reach home in time.
Early voting today witnessed a 94.7% turnout (out of 224,828) this time around compared to 83% (of 278,590) in 2018!
Who is gaining ground during the election campaign period? Share your thoughts here about the campaign so far.