2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis

2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis
Date	22 February 2020 – 24 November 2022
Location	Malaysia
Also known as	Sheraton Move; (Malay: Langkah Sheraton)
Cause	Political infighting and party switching within Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional leading to inability to form a stable majority government in the Dewan Rakyat; Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's refusal to set a date for the transition of power to his designated successor, Anwar Ibrahim; Intention to establish an ethnic Malay-centric coalition government; Political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 2020) and 2021 state of emergency;
Participants	Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 14th Malaysian Parliament; Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah;
Outcome	Formation of Anwar Ibrahim cabinet, after collapse of 2 successive governments and a snap general election Resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad; Collapse of Pakatan Harapan coalition government as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and some members of Parti Keadilan Rakyat withdraw; Appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as the 8th Prime Minister; Perikatan Nasional replaces Pakatan Harapan as the coalition government; Resignation of Perikatan Nasional Cabinet and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin; Appointment of Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the 9th Prime Minister; Amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia to restrict party switching; Calling of 2022 snap election; Hung parliament for the first time in Malaysian history; Appointment of Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister; Formation of several new political coalition based on states: Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS);

The 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis was triggered after several Members of Parliament (MPs) of the 14th Malaysian Parliament changed party support, leading to the loss of a parliamentary majority, the collapse of two successive coalition governments, and the resignation of two Prime Ministers. The political crisis culminated in a 2022 snap general election and eventual formation of a coalition government.

In February 2020, a development commonly dubbed the Sheraton Move, saw the fall of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government and the resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after 22 months in power. They were replaced by Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Political instability continued after these changes throughout 2020 and into 2021, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This culminated with the resignation of Muhyiddin and his cabinet in August 2021, after 17 months in power. A few days later, Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed the ninth Prime Minister to replace Muhyiddin. The crisis triggered several early state elections and a 2022 snap general election.

The crisis started with division in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. Some sources suggest this began due to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attempting to thwart the process of handing over power to his designated successor Anwar Ibrahim, as was promised ahead of his 2018 general election victory. Several MPs began discussing forming a new government by claiming majority seats and support in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Malaysia, without going through a general election.

They accomplished it through the withdrawal of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) from the Pakatan Harapan coalition and through the support of several MPs from the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) led by its deputy president Azmin Ali, who left the party. Prime Minister Mahathir then resigned, creating a power vacuum.

Malaysia's monarch, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah of Pahang, then met with all MPs and political party leaders to gauge their support for a new prime minister. He ultimately appointed the president of Bersatu, Muhyiddin Yassin, as the eighth prime minister. Muhyiddin then declared his coalition government as Perikatan Nasional.

Four states – Johor, Malacca, Perak and Kedah – also experienced changes in the respective state governments as Perikatan Nasional gained majorities in the separate state legislative assemblies. The Sabah State Legislative Assembly was dissolved, triggering the 2020 Sabah state election. Perikatan Nasional won the election and formed the state government with Barisan Nasional and United Sabah Party under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition.

Political instability continued after the change in government. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim announced he had obtained majority support to form a new government in September 2020, but this did not materialise. Malaysia declared a State of Emergency in January 2021 amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, which destabilised the Perikatan Nasional coalition in mid-2021. After a lengthy suspension, parliament temporarily reconvened but expected debates over the emergency measures were blocked, and was then suspended again when COVID-19 cases were detected in the building. Opposition MPs attempted to enter parliament on 2 August 2021 after the State of Emergency was lifted, but were blocked by police. After losing majority support and attempts to regain it were unsuccessful, Prime Minister Muhyiddin and his cabinet resigned on 16 August 2021.

Four days later, UMNO's Vice President Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed prime minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after receiving support from the most MPs. Ismail Sabri's government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pakatan Harapan in an attempt for greater political stability. In 2021 and 2022, instability in state legislative assemblies triggered further elections in Malacca and Johor. The crisis culminated in an early general election in 2022 which produced a hung parliament; Anwar Ibrahim was eventually appointed as prime minister to lead a coalition government.

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