KUALA LUMPUR: The current unity government is the longest-serving government since 2018, says Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said the current administration had surpassed 21 months and 15 days in office following its formation on Dec 5, 2022.
“The government we have today is the longest-serving government we’ve had since 2018.
“This is something that we should not be proud of, as the bigger question is the remaining time we have left.
“This is because, in less than two-and-a-half years, we will have to relinquish our posts and return to the people during the general election,” he said at the Minister’s Conversation 2024 held at the National Institute of Public Administration here yesterday.
Although much had been achieved by the government during the time, he said there is still more work to be done, particularly in addressing the needs of the rakyat.
“What is important is what we have achieved in the last two years and what we will have to do in the remaining time we have left,” added the spokesman for the government.
The then Pakatan Harapan-led government came to power after winning the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister the following day.
However, the government collapsed following the resignation of Dr Mahathir on Feb 24, 2020 – following Bersatu’s withdrawal of support for the Pakatan-led government – resulting in a political crisis affecting the stability of the nation’s administration over the next two years.
On Feb 29, 2020, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was appointed by former Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to lead the nation as the eighth Prime Minister through the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
However, due to the ongoing political instability, a beleaguered Muhyiddin resigned from his post on Aug 16, 2021, after no longer commanding majority support of the Dewan Rakyat.
He was replaced by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was sworn in as the ninth Prime Minister by Sultan Abdullah on Aug 21.
Ismail Sabri, who is from Umno, was appointed to replace Muhyiddin after he secured 114 statutory declarations from MPs supporting his leadership.
On Oct 10, 2022, Ismail Sabri dissolved Parliament, paving the way for a snap 15th General Election on Nov 19, 2022.
The election result saw a hung parliament, the first in the nation’s history.
The main political coalitions failed to reach a consensus following the conclusion of GE15.
A special meeting was held at 11am on Nov 24 among the Malay rulers to allow the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to seek the opinion of his fellow rulers on the formation of the new government.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as the 10th Prime Minister later at 5pm on Nov 24 after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consented to his appointment.
