A Pm Without A Cabinet On The Cards

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While Ismail Sabri has the backing of one bloc, Anwar Ibrahim and Shafie Apdal are both frontrunners in the other and anyone who becomes prime minister may have to work without a Cabinet.PETALING JAYA: The appointment of an interim prime minister, but without a Cabinet, appears to be a possible solution to the current political crisis as no party appears to command majority support, says a source in the know.
Speaking to FMT, the source said there were two main parties in the race to be appointed prime minister following Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation today.
“On one side, you have a group led by Ismail Sabri Yaakob and on the other side is the opposition bloc.
“The bulk of Bersatu MPs are backing Ismail Sabri, this would see a coalition similar to the previous administration.”
On the opposition front, the source said the frontrunners are PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and his Warisan counterpart Shafie Apdal.
“The opposition has around 105 MPs, I’m told that whoever between Anwar and Shafie gets the numbers (support of 111MPs) will be their PM candidate.
“Some former PKR MPs and a section of Bersatu MPs are more inclined to backing Shafie than Ismail Sabri.”
It is also understood that the 15 Umno MPs who withdrew support for Muhyiddin, leading to his downfall, are unlikely to support Ismail’s bid to be PM as it would mean working with Bersatu.
Yesterday, it was reported that Ismail’s bid, which saw him seeking support from former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had not received Umno’s blessing.
“No one actually has the numbers, even if someone were to get just enough support to be PM, it’s unlikely that you will have a stable government.
“One of the proposals that will be put forward, that perhaps makes the most sense, is to have a competent interim prime minister without a Cabinet who can work with the civil service until elections can safely be held.”
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will be meeting political party leaders today amid reports that MPs have been asked to submit their PM candidate to Istana Negara. - FMT

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