The announcement came at the end of a long night in which the media waited for the outcome of the UMNO Supreme Council meeting.

At around midnight, it went out -- the party would continue to support the Perikatan Nasional government headed by Bersatu's Muhyiddin Yassin.

In an official statement, UMNO said it wanted political consensus and "respect", and that it did not wish to work with opposition parties PKR or DAP.

The political ceasefire continues .

UMNO will back Muhyiddin led PN government provided it’s based on political consensus & respect.

UMNO also reaffirmed its earlier stance not to work with PKR or DAP. https://t.co/1BXoxsDTZp pic.twitter.com/dV0FnFi7nC

— Melissa Goh (@MelGohCNA) October 26, 2020

Muhyiddin to remain prime minister

The announcement ended intense speculation over Muhyiddin's future as prime minister.

Earlier, UMNO leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that he could not stop some of his members from supporting PKR's Anwar Ibrahim if they wanted to, with the opposition leader, Anwar, claiming he had a strong majority in parliament, and that Muhyiddin should resign.

Ahmad Zahid also suggested that UMNO may withdraw its support from the government unless certain conditions were met, which were not named.

However, an UMNO meeting in which the party declared its support for the current government appeared to strengthen Muhyiddin's position.

Muhyiddin then went to the palace to ask the king to declare a state of emergency, ostensibly to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, but a move in which his opponents slammed as being politically-motivated.

The king decided not to declare the state of emergency, and UMNO held yet another meeting on Oct. 26 to consider Muhyiddin's position.

In the end, his government lived to see another day.

Najib asked UMNO to support Anwar

But things could have been different, if Najib Razak, the former prime minister, had gotten his way.

On Oct. 26, Malaysiakini reported that Najib had urged UMNO members to support Anwar's ascension to the prime ministership.

This drew backlash from Tony Pua, a DAP MP and Anwar's Pakatan Harapan partner, who said that a new government formed with Najib's support could "go to hell".

Najib said that his first inclination was to call for snap polls once the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia is under control.

If this was not possible, then UMNO should be open to working with Anwar under certain conditions, including that DAP is not involved.

In the end, the animosity between the two parties was perhaps a bridge too far.

UMNO's statement specifically saying they would not work with PKR and the DAP put paid to any hopes Anwar may have had of becoming prime minister with the backing of UMNO MPs.

Anwar: Govt and opposition should work together

And Anwar appears to have ended his quixotic quest to become prime minister -- for now.

A statement put out by him on the night of Oct. 28 appears to extend an olive branch to Muhyiddin and his PN allies.

Anwar also mentioned Budget 2021, set to be tabled on Nov. 6 and discussed by parliament.

If the budget is not passed as a de facto vote of confidence in Muhyiddin's government, then his position might become untenable.

However, Anwar said that the government and opposition should work together to face the problems of the Covid-19 pandemic, unemployment and poverty, which suggests that Muhyiddin's budget might pass after all.

MEDIA STATEMENT
27 October 2020

I take note of the political developments unfolding in Malaysia recently. pic.twitter.com/AGwdSyiwgu

— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) October 27, 2020

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