“The government is led by Pakatan Harapan, which only has 82 seats (in Parliament), and the unity government, as a whole, only has an approval rating of 36.1%.

“When Perikatan Nasional was ruling the government, it had an approval rating of 49.3%,” Hamzah said at the Bersatu general assembly here today.

He reminded “that person”, ostensibly referring to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, not to question efforts to change the government, saying that Anwar himself initiated a similar action through the Sept 16 movement, when he claimed to have the majority support of MPs.

“Back when that person (Anwar) was the opposition leader, he used the phrase ‘strong and formidable numbers’ (in a bid) to overthrow the government because the constitution allows it according to democratic practices,” he said.

Although PH won 82 seats in the 15th general election, its chairman Anwar managed to form a unity government and took his oath of office on Nov 24, 2022, following a hung Parliament five days after the polls.

PH joined forces with Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah to form a unity government with the support of MPs from Warisan, Parti Bangsa Malaysia and the independent bloc.

Hamzah said Bersatu will work harder to achieve an approval rating of above 50% in the coming years.

He also said the pressure put on Bersatu MPs to pledge support for the government will not work.

“The four who pledged support (for the unity government) were under extreme pressure to do so.

“However, the remaining MPs will continue fighting with us and will not pledge support any more to the government,” he said.

Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) and Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar ) – all from Bersatu – pledged their support for the government, saying they were doing so for the sake of their constituents.

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