Speculation and Rumours Spread like wild fire as several parties, Azmin, Bersatu, seen in meetings at different locations

BEST FBKL : What the hell is brewing here. Bersatu should be thankful where they are!

Speculation, sightings and meetings spark talk of new government in Putrajaya

MALAY MAIL
Sunday, 23 Feb 2020 01:39 PM MYT

BY RADZI RAZAK
Speculations abound on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad making arangements for meetings with PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali’s faction and representatives from Umno and PAS. ― Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — Talk is rife today that arrangements are being made for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to meet PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali’s faction as well as representatives from Umno and PAS, with the ultimate aim of forming a new government by this week.

While there has been no official confirmation of such moves, Dr Mahathr’s Bersatu remains a Pakatan Harapan (PH) component party but its presidential council met this morning as speculation heats up over the future of the current government.



Fuelling the talk was news that Umno leaders would be holding a meeting this afternoon at their training centre in Janda Baik, Pahang too.

Members of Azmin’s faction have also been sighted at Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel. These are said to include Cabinet ministers Zuraida Kamaruddin, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and Baru Bian as well as MPs such as Maria Chin Abdullah and Ali Biju.


Curiously, some Bersatu MPs including Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin and political operator Hishamuddin Rais were also spotted at the hotel.


A sign in the lobby showed a “private event” is currently happening at the hotel’s boardroom where the said individuals have gathered. It is booked until 7pm today.

A source from PKR said that Dr Mahathir will meet the Azmin faction today after he finishes his meeting at Bersatu headquarters, located less than one kilometre away at Menara Yayasan Selangor.

“Tun is said to meet with the MPs from Bersatu and 15 MPs from the Azmin faction tonight or later today.

“Some MPs from Umno are also said to be attending the meeting with the PM tonight as well,” said the source on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, another source confirmed that Dr Mahathir is seeking a meeting with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong soon.

“We have yet to have confirmation on when the Agong will meet. Most probably tomorrow,” said the source.

The source, however, refused to divulge details of the meeting although it could be related to the series of meetings that are happening today.

Meanwhile, another source close to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s faction said they are currently monitoring the situation.

“Of course, because there are MPs from our parties involved in the meeting. We don’t know what they are talking about in the meeting, but we are monitoring the situation at hand,” said the source.

The same source also said there will be meetings at Anwar’s Bukit Segambut residence tonight.

It should be noted, however, that Anwar’s Bukit Segambut residence has always been the venue of religious events on Sunday evenings including prayers and sermons.

On Friday, Dr Mahathir, who is the PH coalition chairman, told reporters that the council had unanimously agreed that he alone should determine when to step down from office.

Speculation had been rife among PKR members and Anwar supporters that their president was going to play hardball at the council meeting and demand the deputy prime ministership currently held by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Many of Anwar’s supporters have been demanding Dr Mahathir hand the reins of power to Anwar before November, in light of their pre-election promise made in 2018.

Anwar was seen to play it coy in demanding a definite date, while some political pundits have claimed Dr Mahathir will never pass the baton to Anwar and that both should seek a compromise to the succession plan.

But despite talk of PH giving him the full confidence to decide the transition date, various news outlets claimed the meeting on Friday was heated.

PH seems split into two factions: One that wants Dr Mahathir to extend his term until the next general election, and the another that is demanding the power transition to Anwar.

Yesterday, the Opposition PAS decided to drop its plan to table a vote of confidence for Dr Mahathir following its presidential council voicing unreserved confidence in the prime minister’s undated transition plan.

The Islamist party’s secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said it was no longer relevant to push for such a motion because the ruling coalition’s decision yesterday “can effectively stop undemocratic attempts to unseat a sitting prime minister.”

PPBM leaders, Azmin faction in separate PJ meetings amid intense talk of change taking shape
A Special Correspondent
-February 23, 2020 12:03 PM

FMT
The PPBM headquarters in Petaling Jaya where top party leaders are meeting.

PETALING JAYA: Top leaders of PPBM are currently meeting at the party’s headquarters here amid intense expectations of a political realignment which could see the end of Pakatan Harapan in its current composition.

Just minutes away from the PPBM meeting, PKR leaders aligned to deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali are preparing to meet at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya hotel.

Among nine PKR leaders spotted at the hotel were Zuraida Kamaruddin, Saifuddin Abdullah and Rashid Hasnon.

Zuraida and Saifuddin are part of the Cabinet while Rashid is the deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.



The notice of an event at the lobby of the Sheraton Petaling Jaya today.

PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad is scheduled to arrive at the Sheraton later today after chairing his own party meeting.

Mahathir earlier arrived at Menara Yayasan Selangor, alongside PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin, Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman as well as Supreme Council members Rais Yatim and Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

“The meeting by PPBM today is more than routine party discussion,” a source with access to the inner circles of PPBM and PKR told FMT.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of Umno and PAS held their own closed door meeting at Janda Baik, Pahang, last night. Also present was former prime minister Najib Razak.

FMT has also been made to understand that a crucial decision will be made by PPBM today “which could even see the party ditching its current partners” to form a new coalition.

It cannot independently verify the claims.



Tension has been building in Pakatan Harapan, as PKR, DAP and Amanah leaders stepped up pressure on Mahathir to fix a date for handing over power to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim

Today’s development comes less than 48 hours after a midnight press conference on Friday, in which a visibly stern Mahathir declared that he was still in charge, and that PH partners had given him the trust to remain as prime minister for as long as he wanted.

Last month, FMT reported that private meetings between Mahathir and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang might foreshadow the realignment of political power in Putrajaya, a move that might sideline DAP, and more specifically, thwart Anwar’s prime ministerial ambitions.

The new alignment would bring together forces aligned to Mahathir with the clout that PAS holds in the northern Malay heartland.

Earlier this month, Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam raised the possibility of a new coalition called “Pakatan Nasional” taking shape.

PH was formed in 2015 by PKR, DAP and Amanah following the break-up of Pakatan Rakyat, which previously united then opposition parties PAS, PKR and DAP.

In 2016, the coalition got its fourth partner, PPBM, formed by Mahathir after a split in Umno. The grouping proved effective in mobilising public support in the wake of public disenchantment with the Najib administration over the 1MDB scandal, culminating in the historic defeat of Barisan Nasional in the 2018 elections.

Additional reporting by Nur Hasliza and Sean Augustin.