The government changed.
Nobody voted.
In February 2020 Malaysia got a new Prime Minister and a new governing coalition without a single ballot being cast. This is the week that did it, one verified step at a time — and, at the end, the parts that are still argued over.
Chronology from the project's page on the Sheraton Move. Every step below carries the source it came from.
21 February 2020established
Bersatu (PPBM)'s political bureau met and discussed leaving Pakatan Harapan (PH), ahead of a full Supreme Council decision two days later.
23 February 2020established
A gathering of MPs and party leaders took place at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya. Attendees included a faction of PKR MPs aligned with PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, along with Bersatu's Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, UMNO figures including Tengku Adnan Mansor, Annuar Musa and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and PAS figures including Hadi Awang, Takiyuddin Hassan, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and Nik Mohamad Zawawi Salleh.
23 February 2020established
Bersatu's Supreme Council resolved that the party would leave PH and pursue a new coalition with other parties. Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed this decision was made that day.
24 February 2020established
PKR's national leadership committee sacked deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin from the party over their role in the Sheraton Hotel gathering.
24 February 2020established
Azmin Ali, Zuraida Kamaruddin and nine other PKR MPs issued a joint statement announcing they had left PKR to sit as an independent bloc in Parliament. With the combined departure of the Bersatu bloc (reported at around 26 MPs) and this PKR-aligned bloc (reported at 10–11 MPs), PH lost its simple majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.
24 February 2020established
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad resigned as the seventh Prime Minister. Several hours later, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) accepted the resignation but reappointed him as interim Prime Minister, with power to appoint cabinet ministers, until a new government was formed.
25–26 February 2020established
The Agong interviewed MPs individually at Istana Negara to determine who was likely to command majority confidence as Prime Minister. Malay Mail reported 90 interviews on the first day; reporting on the second day said that at least 137 MPs had been interviewed in the process. Interim PM Mahathir was not interviewed, and UMNO's Nazri Aziz was reported unable to attend because he was overseas.
27 February 2020established
Istana Negara stated that the interview process had not resulted in any single MP being clearly identified as commanding the confidence of a majority of the Dewan Rakyat.
29 February 2020established
Mahathir stated he had secured the backing of 114 MPs and would inform the Agong he could command a majority. Separately, the PH presidential council stated its candidate, Anwar Ibrahim, had received the highest number of individual MP nominations under the process set by the Agong, and sought a royal audience for him.
29 February 2020established
Istana Negara announced that the Agong had determined Muhyiddin Yassin was likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs, and that Muhyiddin would be sworn in as the eighth Prime Minister on 1 March 2020.
1 March 2020established
Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia's eighth Prime Minister at Istana Negara. His government was supported by Bersatu, the Azmin-aligned PKR-exit bloc, UMNO, PAS and other parties; the political alignment was subsequently registered as Perikatan Nasional (PN) on 7 August 2020. GPS supported Muhyiddin but stated that it was not a PN member.
What is still argued over
The parts nobody agrees on
The chronology above is the part that is settled. These are the questions where the people involved gave different accounts — set out side by side, without picking a winner.
contested
Who initiated and orchestrated the Sheraton Move, and when planning began
Mahathir Mohamad said Azmin Ali had been planning the formation of a new government "for some time" and that it was not easy for Azmin to convince nine MPs to join. Azmin Ali, by contrast, has said he acted because he believed PH figures were plotting to remove Mahathir and hand power to Anwar Ibrahim, and that his group's move was a response to that. Some retrospective academic accounts describe the episode as engineered largely by Muhyiddin and Azmin acting together, but this is an interpretive characterisation, not an established fact with named contemporaneous sourcing for intent.
how this is labelled: contested — Mahathir's characterisation; contested — Azmin's characterisation; contested — retrospective academic framing
contested
Whether Mahathir supported or opposed Bersatu's exit from PH
Bersatu's information chief said Mahathir "supported" the party's decision to leave PH. However, two Bersatu supreme council members later said Mahathir never actually pulled the party out of PH and that the exit was engineered by others within the party.
how this is labelled: contested — Bersatu official's account; contested — dissenting Bersatu members' account
contested
Whether Anwar Ibrahim was approached to join the new coalition
PKR organising secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad alleged Anwar had been invited by Bersatu, UMNO and PAS to join a new coalition but declined, unwilling to abandon DAP. DAP's Lim Kit Siang said this was "the first time" he had heard such a claim, despite meeting Anwar repeatedly in the following months. Anwar himself later confirmed he had held discussions with Muhyiddin on forming a new government before the Sheraton Move, without confirming their content or purpose.
how this is labelled: alleged — Nik Nazmi's account; contested — Kit Siang's account; established that meetings occurred; contested what was discussed or offered
contested
Whether the Agong considered appointing Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as interim PM instead of Mahathir
Former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas has said the Agong had considered Wan Azizah for the interim PM post before Mahathir was nominated; Mahathir has rebutted this account.
how this is labelled: contested — competing first-hand accounts
contested
Exact size of the departing MP blocs
Contemporaneous reporting gave slightly varying figures for the Bersatu bloc (around 26 MPs) and the Azmin-aligned PKR bloc (reported as both "10" and "11" MPs across different reports).
how this is labelled: contested — figures vary by outlet/date
Why this can happen at all
No general election took place during this change of government. In Malaysia's parliamentary system, a Prime Minister is appointed on the constitutional test of likely majority confidence in the Dewan Rakyat; it is not dependent on a fresh election. The opposing political accounts of whether Muhyiddin held that confidence should have been tested promptly in Parliament are part of the controversy surrounding the appointment. Rules restricting party switching were introduced later; see the anti-hop law. Who planned the move, and when, remains disputed by people directly involved, as detailed above.
Parliament passed an anti-party-hopping law in October 2022. That page is still being researched and is not published yet.