*Some figures in this article have been updated*

KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): The change in political alignment, triggered by the Sheraton Move in February, saw Perikatan Nasional (PN) take over as the federal government with a simple majority of 113 out of 222 members of Parliament (MPs) in the Dewan Rakyat — a majority of two.

This was after 32 MPs jumped to PN — all of whom are now registered as members of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

They comprise 21 MPs from Bersatu led by party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, as well as 10 MPs from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) led by then-deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Also switching to Bersatu was independent MP Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, who won the Bukit Gantang seat in the 14th general election with the Umno ticket.

With the exodus of 21 Bersatu MPs and 10 from PKR, Pakatan, which previously commanded 138 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, was left with 108 MPs.

These included the five MPs from Bersatu, comprising Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Maszlee Malik and Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah.

Meanwhile, Selangau MP Baru Bian, who exited PKR to join Azmin’s camp, turned back to opposition as an independent.

Meanwhile, Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) MP for Sri Aman, Datuk Masir Kujat, has clarified that the party remains a federal opposition, bumping up the opposition headcount to 109.

Dr M, Zahid in back seat

The latest Dewan Rakyat seating has been arranged with gaps among MPs for social-distancing purposes as precautions against Covid-19.

This resulted in over 70 MPs being seated at the public gallery, mainly comprising the backbenchers.

Similarly, PSB's Datuk Masir Kujat, who has remained as opposition, is also seated in the public gallery.

The opposition is led by new leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whereas Dr Mahathir notably sits furthest in the opposition's front row after Amanah's Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

On the government's side, Azmin, who was appointed senior minister (economy), sits next to Muhyiddin, followed by fellow senior ministers Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri (defence) and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof (works).

Muhyiddin has not appointed a deputy prime minister at this point in time. It is unclear if one will be appointed anytime soon.

In total, there are four MPs who are not officially in either of the two political coalitions, PN or Pakatan, namely one each in Sabah's Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, and Sarawak's PSB, as well as independent MP Baru Bian.

Meanwhile, Sabah's Parti Solidarity Tanah Airku is now part of PN, as the party was part of PN's joint statement dated May 17 underlining the coalition's memorandum of understanding.

Another party, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation, has been aligned with Pakatan since 2018, and was also a signatory in Pakatan's latest statements.