Last week (7/11) we were honoured to be invited to participate in the ""Political Stability of the Hung Parliament"" forum at Sunway University. The theme of this seminar was to discuss the related issues of hung Parliament. At the same time, the speakers at the conference were all brilliant, including Dr Wong Jinfa, who was mentioned in the article on 7/12. There are also the President of the Senat, Minister in the Prime Minister's department, and the shadow Minister of Education, the content is diverse and rich, so that we have benefited a lot.
What is a hung Parliament?
A hung parliament is a parliament or congress that is elected in an election in which no single party or political coalition receives a majority of the seats. In other words, no single party or political group can form a solid majority government on its own. In a hung parliament, different parties or political factions usually have to govern together by forming a coalition government, forming a governing coalition, or working with other minor parties. This situation may lead to political negotiations and compromises in search of cooperation programmes and policy consensus. The hung Parliament poses a challenge to political stability and the efficiency of decision-making, as consensus must be sought to ensure the proper functioning of government.
Although hung assemblies had not occurred before this general election, they had occurred in state elections in Malaysia as early as 2018, when three state assemblies - Perak, Kedah and Sabah - had such a situation. In the Sabah Parliament, for example, Barisan Nasional won 29 out of a total of 60 seats, Pakatan Harapan and its partner ""Parti Warisan"" also won a total of 29 seats, and the remaining two seats were won by Sabah New Party, which means that no party has obtained a simple majority of seats, thus forming a hung parliament. The Barisan Nasional formed the new state government with a majority of seats after winning the support of the new party, however, the Barisan Nasional, which had won five seats for Barisan Nasional in the general election, suddenly announced its withdrawal from the Barisan Nasional and switched its support to the Pakatan Harapan, which led to the collapse of the new Sabah government in less than 48 hours, and the Parti Warisan Chairman was subsequently sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Sabah.
Hung parliaments are common in European countries, such as Finland, Germany, Italy and Greece, and tend to occur when political parties are divided or voters are dispersed. For the formation of a government, hung parliaments often require wisdom and consultation among political leaders to ensure that the country continues to be effectively managed and governed.
