Anwar Ibrahim or Muhyiddin Yassin, who will be Malaysia's new Prime Minister?

For the first time in Malaysia's political history, the general elections have produced a hung parliament. Surprisingly, Mahatir Mohammad, country's longest serving Prime Minister has lost his seat. At 97, Mahathir's decision to contest for the elections was surprising for many.

What are the results?

• Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan (PH) has secured the maximum number of seats at 82 in a 222-member assembly. However, his party fell short of majority.
• Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's Malay-based Perikatan Nasional (PN) trailed behind with 73 seats.
• Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's ruling Barisonal Nasional (BN) coalition suffered major upset as they won only 30 seats. This was a big jolt for an alliance that has ruled over Malaysian politics for decades.
• The political parties have been given time till Tuesday (November 22) to submit their Prime Ministerial candidates, as the royal palace extended a deadline for opposition rivals Muhyiddin Yasin and Anwar Ibrahim, to find support after the election gave a hung parliament.

What will be the outcome of the elections?

• Since no political party has achieved enough seats to form the government, this means that the smaller parties will now be in a position to play role of kingmakers.
• Ismail Sabri's BN alliance that got 30 seats, said that they have accepted the decision but also didn't concede the defeat saying that the party remains committed to forming a stable government.
• Media reports also said that Anwar Ibrahim's coalition was meeting with Barison Nasional coalition on Monday morning. Interestingly, Sabri's ruling BN alliance might have got just 30 seats but it holds a key to power as no party has been able to secure a majority.
• On the other hand, regional coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak has showed willingness to work with former Premier Muhyiddin Yasin and the incumbent administration to form a new government.

The Latest updates:

• The Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has given 24 hours to political parties to declare their PM candidates. "The King has called upon the people to be patient and calm until new government formation and naming of the 10th Prime Minister is completed," Nikkei Asia reported.
• Yassin Muhyiddin, whose party PN won 73 seats claimed he had the support of Borneo parties that won cumulative 28 seats.
• Anwar Ibrahim, whose party Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 82 seats was seen in discussion with National Front on Monday afternoon in Kuala Lumpur. A coalition will need at least 112 seats to form the government.

The end of Mahathir Mohammad's political career: 

• With the defeat in the general elections, Malaysia's political giant Mahathir Mohammad's political journey has also come to an end.
• At 97, Mahathir has served as the country's Prime Minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003.
• He is widely applauded for Malaysia's rapid economic development and transformation from the 1980s.
• He is known for transforming Malaysia into an export giant.
• In 2018, he had come out of retirement to take down former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who had been accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars worth state funds.
• With the help of Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir became the country's Prime Minister as Mr Najib was charged and eventually jailed on charges of money laundering and abuse of power.