Agong extends deadline for submission of name of coalition, PM candidate until 2 pm tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR: The deadline for political party and coalition leaders to submit their proposed coalition to form the new government and name of Prime Minister candidate has been extended until 2 pm tomorrow.

Comptroller of Istana Negara Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had consented to the extension of time following requests received from the leaders.

He said His Majesty also called and advised the people to be patient and to stay calm until the formation of the new federal government and appointment of the 10th Prime Minister are completed.

"His Majesty also reminded everyone that the country's administration is still running as usual under the caretaker Prime Minister based on the principles outlined for the caretaker government," he said in a statement here today.

At the same time, he said the King also called on the people to pray for the formation of the new government to run smoothly and that Malaysia will continue to be blessed and protected from any form of disaster and calamity.

Yesterday, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decreed that all party and coalition leaders that won the most seats in the 15th General Election (GE15) to inform Istana Negara about the new coalition they have agreed upon to form the new government, as well as the name of their Prime Minister candidate, before 2 pm today.

The GE15 on Saturday ended with no party obtaining a simple majority of 112 seats in the 222-seat Parliament to form the new government.

Pakatan Harapan obtained 82 seats, followed by Perikatan Nasional (73), BN (30), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (22), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), Warisan (three).

Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) secured one each, while the independents, two.

-- BERNAMA