Umno stays in government but wants GE once Covid-19 under control

 

The Umno supreme council has decided that its ministers will be staying in government for now, but that a general election should be called once the Covid-19 pandemic is under control.

Party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in a statement past midnight, did not reveal whether the supreme council had deliberated on the deputy prime minister's post or if a decision had been made.

"All Umno cabinet members will remain in government and be committed to continue protecting the people's welfare and defending the party's dignity.

"Umno has decided that the people's mandate should be returned to create a stable government by having a general election once the Covid-19 pandemic can be controlled and is at its minimum level," Zahid said.

Party leaders who attended the meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) declined to speak to the media after the meeting ended at around 12.30am.

Those who refused to comment included Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Shahidan Kassim, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Zahidi Zainul Abidin, and Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

The meeting was believed to have started at around 9.30pm yesterday (Oct 29).

Zahid and his deputy Mohamad Hasan managed to evade the media as they exited via a different route.

The Umno supreme council meeting yesterday was the second one this week.

Earlier, it was said that they would discuss a potential candidate for the deputy prime minister post.

This came after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was reported as "waiting" for Umno to name their choice to be his deputy following the party's demand for the position in exchange for its continued support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Umno had considered retracting its support for PN, but ultimately decided to continue backing the coalition on condition that Umno gets more "respect" and political consensus. - Mkini