KUALA LUMPUR: All political party heads have been summoned for an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, at Istana Negara tomorrow, sources claimed.
This comes amidst uncertainty over which member of parliament holds the most number of seats in the Dewan Rakyat after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as prime minister earlier today.
According to sources in both Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH), several leaders from the respective coalitions' component parties have been summoned to meet the king.
"I'm not sure of the setting, but most probably the Agong would meet the leaders separately to find out who among them has the majority.
"But if there's no clear winner tomorrow, it looks like we will have to go through the same thing as last year again," one source told the New Straits Times.
He was referring to the aftermath of the Sheraton Move in February last year where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had to meet each MP to determine the person with the largest support following the resignation of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysia was left without a government for a week at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic due to the political impasse caused by Parti Bersatu Pribumi Malaysia pulling out of PH.
Muhyiddin was later appointed the country's eighth prime minister with a razor-thin majority.
At the moment, efforts are underway to garner support for a new prime minister and according to sources, the names in play include PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
"So far, not one (of them) has been able to secure the required 111 seats (in the Dewan Rakyat). It's unlikely it will all be settled tomorrow," one source said.
The Dewan Rakyat has a 220 strong membership with two vacancies.