[KUALA LUMPUR] After another day passed with no progress on who would lead Malaysia’s next government, the King is set to meet with other Malay rulers at the Palace on Thursday (Nov 24) to seek their views on the ongoing impasse.

This was the latest update on Wednesday after the King met the leaders from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

“The purpose of the special meeting with Malay rulers is for the king to get their views before making a decision for the interests and stability of the country and people,” the Palace said in a statement.

According to a report in Malaysiakini, BN chairman Ahamd Zahid Hamidi said the King’s decree is to form a unity government, and it was important for BN to be part of this unity government. However, he did not disclose the coalition’s decision on this.

Nearly three-quarters of 21 million eligible Malaysian voters woke up last Sunday, a day after Polling Day on Nov 19, to an unprecedented hung parliament, as no political alliances managed to secure a simple majority of 112 parliamentary seats to form a new government.

PH secured 82 seats, followed by PN (73 seats), BN (30 seats), GPS (22 seats), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six seats) and Warisan (three seats), as well as two independent candidates.

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Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is leading the BN coalition, and United Malays National Organisation deputy president Mohamad Hasan were spotted at St Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday afternoon. They were there to attend a special meeting with leaders from Perikatan Nasional.

Ismail had earlier said that BN’s Supreme Council had decided to remain as the opposition, and not work with any coalition in forming Malaysia’s next government.

This is not the first time Malaysia’s King stepped in to resolve the political impasse. When the PH government led by Mahathir Mohamad collapsed in February 2020, the King appointed Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister after interviewing all 222 MPs. The entire process took around six days.

On Wednesday, two-time former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is the chairman of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), hoped the coalition that won the most seats – in this case, PH – could lead the way in forming the government.

In a Twitter post, the 97-year-old said was saddened by his party’s dismal performance in the polls, but added that he accepted the people’s decision. Both Dr Mahathir and Pejuang suffered heavy defeats as none of their 125 candidates won a single seat.

“I will focus on writing about history and other activities. There are many incidents in the country that have not been recorded yet, including what happened during the British era. I am also open to being interviewed by writers,” he said.