KUALA LUMPUR: Business is as usual for state governments, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took helm of the federal administration as the interim prime minister.
Lawyer Nizam Bashir said state governments would function normally, while waiting for the interim ministerial appointments which will form an interim Cabinet.
“Tun (Dr Mahathir) is still the head of government. The mandate of that interim government would be to primarily maintain the status quo prior to the previous (Pakatan Harapan) government collapsing.
“So yes, official dealings with ministries are as usual subject to the above; that it's primarily to maintain the status quo as above,” he told the New Straits Times when contacted today.
The latest scenario in the country’s politics has kept Malaysians on the edge of their seats, while waiting to see what details emerged next, after Dr Mahathir made a shocking decision to resign yesterday.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has consented to appoint Dr Mahathir as an interim prime minister, after accepting his resignation as the prime minister earlier.
This was amid reports of a potential new coalition Pakatan Nasional.
Leaders from both the opposition and Pakatan Harapan claimed that they have the majority, which according to the constitution, at least 112 parliamentary seats are required to win a simple majority to form a government.