For the past five years, Malaysia has held on tenuously to three appointed governments, in that their prime ministers were not chosen by the majority of the MPs but appointed by the incumbent Yang DiPertuan Agong.

While it is constitutional for the king to appoint the prime minister and the Cabinet of the PM, what was never proven is whether the appointed PMs had the majority support of the MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, which is a constitutional requirement.

The first appointed government was led by the then Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman and PN partner Bersatu president, Muhyiddin Yassin. He rallied the majority of the Malay parties to form a solid Malay-majority coalition which led a coup in 2020 against the first and incumbent Pakatan Harapan (PH) government helmed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Muhyiddin was the first to go to the palace with his list of statutory declarations (SDs), claiming he had a majority. Based on his claim, the palace closed the gates to the contender, Mahathir, who also claimed and declared at a press conference that he had a majority.

No avenue was available, nor a chance given to prove which of these claims was correct and Muhyiddin was appointed the PM. Two years later, his coalition partner Umno threatened to leave the government, and following negotiations, Muhyiddin resigned and a Umno candidate, Ismail Sabri, became the next PM.

Sabri called for general elections in 2022 which resulted in a hung Parliament between PH and PN and PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim, the current PM, was appointed by the king without proof of majority support of the MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.

All three governments claimed to have achieved political stability, which they used to justify the king’s appointment without proof of majority support. The appointments, however, were met with great public protests which ended Muhyiddin’s tenure but Anwar’s term continues on the strength of a memorandum of understanding that all his coalition partners had to sign to ensure he completes a full term.

The decisions Anwar made or did not make were also met with unhappiness, disappointment and frustration over the fact that he was not acting consistently with his party’s manifesto and professed reform agenda. The people’s constitutional right to change a government could not be effected because of the MoU.

Hence, the claim of political stability to justify the appointment of a PM and his Cabinet is merely a semblance of the truth achieved at the expense of the democratic processes of the people and the people’s helplessness at the hands of elected representatives who were unable to stop the appointing of a PM without proof of majority support. This lapse in democratic choice happened, not once but twice.

It is very likely that with a fragmented Malay majority, the outcome of the next general election will also be a hung Parliament. Once again, will the MPs go against the federal constitution and allow the king to appoint the PM without proof of majority? Or will the king have to depend on SDs and who gets to the palace first?

In the event of a hung Parliament, currently, the decision is left to the king to appoint the PM who he thinks has a majority as it is stated in the constitution. But “who he thinks” must have a democratic basis in that the MPs have made their choice very clear through a proper legal process. The latter process is what is missing in choosing a Malaysian PM and, in its absence, when the king appoints without proof of majority, the choice becomes undemocratic.

There is only one solution to the problem of finding out which PM-designate has the support of the majority of the MPs: A confidence vote.

Unlike other democracies in the world, Malaysia has no legal provision for the Dewan Rakyat and/or MPs to call for a confidence vote to test the support of the PM among the MPs. In its absence, the choice of a PM, which constitutionally should be made by the MPs, will by default fall into the hands of the king.

In 2020, if a confidence vote had been called in the Dewan Rakyat, it would have proven whether Muhyiddin or Mahathir had the majority support. In 2022, likewise, a confidence vote would have clearly produced a PM of the choice of the people.

This is the apparent solution, but which MPs with uncertain people’s support will not want to introduce, as they may not want to offend the royal institution who they depend on to appoint the PM.

The deference to the royals, however, may be more cultural than factual. Malaysia’s royalty surely understands that they are the custodians of the people’s democratic institutions, conventions and processes and will or will have to respect the decisions the people make through their elected representatives to put into place laws and legal provisions that facilitate their democratic choice.

The MPs choose the PM. The king gives his stamp of approval that it was democratically done and appoints him.

This is the light at the end of the dark five-year tunnel Malaysia has gone through since 2020. It is the solution that is probably in the minds of the MPs, but which they may be reluctant to resolve for fear of resistance.

But 2026 calls for a determination and leadership on the part of the MPs to bring about a resolution and rally among themselves to put in place a law to call for a confidence vote. If MPs on both sides of the divide come together with a single-minded commitment to introduce such a law, the government and Speaker will have to take note and back it.

It will facilitate the installation of a democratic government with the mandate of the people in the event of a crisis outside of a general election. It would be a democratic, legitimate and constitutional government, sovereign and one which precludes external interferences or manipulation by any source in the choice of the PM, thus providing the unquestionable basis for political stability.

If the MPs are serious about strengthening the electoral processes of the people and establishing a stable government, they will enact a law for the calling of a confidence vote. It will bring about the much-needed stability that has eluded us for the past five years!

That’s my 2026 wish for Malaysia. Light at the end of the tunnel!