Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim have issued a joint statement stating that they do not recognise the current Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the New Straits Times reported.

This is due to the current government not being mandated by the people, they further added.

The joint statement was issued on May 9, to mark Pakatan Harapan's victory in Malaysia's 14th General Election in 2018.

The statement read:

"It stands without the mandate of the rakyat. It did not officially (obtain the people's mandate) as per the ballot papers in the general election. It was founded based solely on the greed for position and ranks. Moreover, none of the leaders of today's government have promised to serve the people."

The time has come to "return the mandate of the people"

The Star further reported that the statement also called for "the mandate of the people" to be returned to the "right party."

It added:

"We are now old, we do not have a lot of time. But, the fighting spirit still burns in the souls of young people who dream of reform. The time has come for us to rise up again and to continue to return the mandate of the people to the right party."

Both Mahathir and Anwar also added that May 9, 2018, was a historical event in which the world witnessed Malaysia forming a new government which upheld responsibility and the rule of law.

They said:

"Two years ago we did not give up to let the voices of the people be heard. Today is the same. We have long rejected differences, disputes, crisis for the people."

As such, they did not want "to betray the people who had queued hours at voting stations to vote, spent hundreds to fly back to vote, took unpaid leave to come back to change the fate of this country."

Statement issued a day after Mahathir's no-confidence vote against Muhyiddin approved

The joint statement was issued a day after the Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament, Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff, accepted an application by Mahathir for a motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin, the Bangkok Post reported.

When that will happen has not been specified.

Malaysia's Parliament House is due to sit next for a day on May 18.

It had originally been due to sit in the middle of March.

However, it was postponed following the appointment of Muhyiddin as prime minister.

Prior to accepting Mahathir's motion, Ariff had rejected the motion by Mohd Shafie Apdal, another lawmaker who supported Mahathir, which was to show that the former prime minister commanded the majority of support in Parliament, The Star reported.

The rejection had been done on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.

Top image collage from Mahathir Mohamad Facebook, Muhyiddin Yassin Facebook, Anwar Ibrahim Facebook