Congrats, now prove majority support ASAP - Hanipa tells PM

 

Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin has congratulated Ismail Sabri Yaakob on being sworn-in as Malaysia’s prime minister but has reminded him that he must waste no time in proving that he has the support of the majority of members of the Dewan Rakyat.

“In my capacity as Sepang MP I have not the slightest problem in congratulating Ismail Sabri on his appointment as the ninth prime minister in the name of ‘sportsmanship’.

“Although I was somewhat critical prior to the appointment on the basis of the Bersatu president’s (Muhyiddin Yassin) clear media statement that only provided conditional and not conclusive support and that it seemingly violated the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s clear directives, I can still accept it for now,” said Hanipa (above) in a statement.

However, the motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat as ordered by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must be brought by the government and it needs to be expedited, said the Amanah man.

“Any statement that says the motion is not necessary is inappropriate, misleading and does not respect the order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he added.

While Hanipa questioned whether or not it was appropriate for the swearing-in ceremony at the Istana Negara yesterday to be carried out prior to the vote in the Dewan Rakyat, he nevertheless reminded Ismail Sabri to submit a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat as soon as possible to legitimise his position as the MP with majority support.

Ismail Sabri took his oath of office before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at Istana Negara yesterday at 2.30pm.

The ceremony was aired live by national television stations and the Prime Minister Department’s Facebook page.

Ismail Sabri is the first prime minister who is not the head or deputy head of a political party.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is facing graft charges while his deputy Mohamad Hasan is not an MP.

The Bera MP takes over from caretaker prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional chairperson.

Muhyiddin was ousted after 15 Umno MPs withdrew their support for his coalition government comprising PN (Bersatu, PAS, STAR, SAPP, Gerakan), BN (Umno, MCA, MIC, PBRS), GPS (PBB, PRS, PDP SUPP), PBS and independent MPs.

However, 14 out of the 15 Umno MPs returned to the coalition’s fold after it was agreed that Ismail Sabri will take over as the prime minister.

Ismail Sabri, 61, was the deputy prime minister in Muhyiddin’s cabinet. - Mkini