In the dying days of the Muhyiddin Yassin administration, the outgoing prime minister did something unprecedented in Malaysian politics - begging the opposition to keep him in power.

In exchange, Muhyiddin offered a slew of institutional reforms, most of which opposition Pakatan Harapan had advocated for such as lowering the voting age, laws to prevent the defection of lawmakers, and term limits for the prime minister.

However, as the disdain for Muhyiddin within Harapan remained strong, only two Harapan MPs spoke in favour of the deal - Damansara MP Tony Pua and Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming (above).

This earned the duo the wrath of not just the public but also their allies and even those from their own party, the DAP.

In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, Ong said he felt vindicated now since Harapan eventually signed a similar confidence-and-supply agreement (CSA) with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in September last year.