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KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Wednesday (September 23) that he received information that many members of the UMNO Parliament and Barisan Nasional (BN) have voiced their support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to form a new government.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also president of BN, said that UMNO and BN are not component parties of Perikatan Nasional (PN), so any support for the PN government comes from individual parliamentarians.
“UMNO and BN cannot prevent Anwar supporters from meeting with Yang di-Pertuan Agong to make their intention known,” he said in a statement.
“They told me that many MPs from UMNO and BN have expressed their support (for Anwar). I respect his decision “.
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Anwar had announced earlier on Wednesday that he had obtained a “strong, formidable and convincing majority” of deputies to form a new government.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chairman and deputy from Port Dickson claimed that he was supposed to have an audience with the king, but that it was postponed because the king was hospitalized.
Meanwhile, MCA President Wee Ka Siong stressed that the party, along with BN, will continue to support the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
“In my capacity as president of MCA, I wish to emphasize that our position is clear and that MCA and BN fully support Muhyiddin. Under his leadership, the government has been able to function well and successfully contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the past six months.
“At the same time, we have reactivated the country’s economy during these difficult times as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
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Wee likened Anwar’s announcement to sabotaging the country at a time when it is trying to revive its economy.
He added that Anwar has reverted to his old tactics, such as when he claimed to have the support of 30 MPs and “was heading to Putrajaya on September 16, 2008.”
“While talking to reporters today, you can see (Anwar) to avoid touching the total number of MPs who are with him,” said the MCA president.
“As a high-level political leader, Anwar should be more responsible, especially when the Sabah state elections are held. The stability of the country is far more important than his ambition to become prime minister.”
