# Sheraton Move and collapse of Malaysia's Pakatan Harapan government

### Coalition defections that ended Malaysia's 2018 electoral mandate

The Sheraton Move began on February 23, 2020, when Malaysian political leaders met amid reports that members of the governing [Pakatan Harapan](/organizations/pakatan-harapan) coalition and opposition parties were seeking a new parliamentary alignment. Pakatan Harapan had won the May 2018 election, ending the long rule of the [Barisan Nasional](/organizations/barisan-nasional) coalition. The February maneuver involved figures from Bersatu, a faction of the [People's Justice Party](/organizations/people-s-justice-party) and parties previously outside the governing alliance. It threatened the majority supporting Prime Minister [Mahathir Mohamad](/people/mahathir-mohamad) without a new general election. That difference between legislative bargaining and an electoral mandate made the crisis a pivotal episode for [political competition](/drivers/political-competition).

On February 24, 2020, Mahathir resigned as prime minister, and the king appointed him to serve in an interim capacity. Bersatu's departure from Pakatan Harapan, together with defections from [Anwar Ibrahim](/people/anwar-ibrahim)'s party, deprived the coalition of its parliamentary majority. King Sultan Abdullah then consulted legislators and party leaders to determine who could command confidence in the lower house. On February 29, the palace announced that Muhyiddin Yassin would become prime minister. On March 1, Muhyiddin was sworn in, and on March 9 he presented his cabinet. The government created by the realignment called itself Perikatan Nasional and depended on a different combination of lawmakers than the one voters had backed in 2018.

Supporters of the new administration said Malaysia's constitutional monarchy had resolved a loss of parliamentary confidence under established procedures. Its critics called the maneuver a betrayal of voters who had elected Pakatan Harapan on a reform platform. Both accounts refer to distinct standards: the king's authority to appoint a legislator believed to command confidence, and the democratic principle that major political shifts are normally answerable to an electorate. The outcome tested [democratic resilience](/drivers/democratic-resilience) because a formally constitutional appointment could still destabilize trust in parties and weaken the accountability attached to their campaign commitments. Reform promises concerning [institutional corruption](/drivers/institutional-corruption), including the aftermath of the 1MDB scandal, also acquired new uncertainty when parties associated with the previous ruling order returned to positions of influence.

Muhyiddin took office as the [COVID-19 pandemic](/drivers/covid-19-pandemic) was accelerating in March 2020, placing immediate responsibility for emergency restrictions and economic support on a government whose majority remained contested. In 2020, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim repeatedly challenged Muhyiddin's confidence claims, while coalition parties bargained over posts and policy. Muhyiddin's government also faced criticism over emergency powers and parliamentary scrutiny during the pandemic. On August 16, 2021, Muhyiddin resigned after losing political support; the king subsequently appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob. The sequence confirmed that the Sheraton-era coalition arrangement had not produced long-term stability.

Malaysia held another national election in November 2022, producing a hung parliament and negotiations that eventually made Anwar Ibrahim prime minister. Unlike the February 2020 episode, that process followed a direct national vote, although it again required royal assessment of parliamentary support. The comparison clarifies the long-term consequence for [capacity for peaceful transfer of power](/drivers/capacity-for-peaceful-transfer-of-power): Malaysia maintained constitutional continuity and avoided military intervention, but repeated government changes tested public confidence in mandates, coalition discipline and predictable administration. The February 2020 maneuver gave elected legislators a path to change a government without an election, while exposing the difficulty of reconciling parliamentary arithmetic with the reform program for which the previous governing coalition had been elected.

## Dated facts

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## Methodology

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