KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia's royal palace postponed from yesterday all meetings for two weeks because of new coronavirus curbs, a palace official said, likely putting off a decision on a bid by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to form a new government.
Datuk Seri Anwar had on Tuesday met the King to try to prove he had a "convincing" parliamentary majority to form a government, sparking a fresh bout of political wrangling more than seven months after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took office.
Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah was scheduled to meet leaders of main political parties to verify Mr Anwar's claim, but a two-week partial lockdown took effect from yesterday in Kuala Lumpur and the neighbouring state of Selangor.
The King has postponed all meetings due to the conditional movement control order imposed as coronavirus cases spike, palace comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin told Reuters.
The palace will set new dates for the meetings with party leaders after the curbs are lifted, Datuk Ahmad Fadil said.
The monarch had earlier postponed audiences with opposition leaders Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu.
Lim, who is secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party, and Mr Mohamad, president of Parti Amanah Negara, said in a press statement that they were initially scheduled to meet Sultan Abdullah at Istana Negara yesterday and on Oct 21, respectively.
The palace had also scheduled an audience with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Malaysian Indian Congress chief S.A. Vigneswaran today.
Should Mr Anwar succeed in his bid to become prime minister, it would be the culmination of a 22-year quest, which included nearly 10 years in jail on sodomy charges he denied.
It would also mean Malaysia would have its third prime minister this year.
Mr Anwar told a news conference on Tuesday that he had presented documents to the King to prove he had the support of more than 120 members of the 222-seat Parliament.
The palace later said Mr Anwar had submitted the number of lawmakers that he said supported him but had not identified them.
Sultan Abdullah plays a largely ceremonial role but he can appoint a prime minister who, in his view, is likely to command a majority.
In February, at the height of wrangling that saw the collapse of the administration of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad, the King appointed Tan Sri Muhyiddin as Prime Minister after consulting all the 222 MPs.
Mr Muhyiddin has a two-seat parliamentary majority - 113 seats - but critics say he came to power through shifting alliances and not by earning it at the ballot box.
Malaysia yesterday logged 660 new coronavirus cases, the same number of new infections reported on Tuesday, and just shy of the 691 record daily high last week. The total number of cases stood at 17,540.
Four more deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, raising total fatalities to 167.
REUTERS, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
