A meeting of four Malacca state assemblypersons, two from Bersatu and two from Umno, has raised eyebrows and speculation about the status of the state government.
Umno's Sungai Udang assemblyperson Idris Haron, who was among those at the meeting, denied discussing bringing down the Malacca government but cautioned that he could play a kingmaker role.
The meeting on Aug 11 was between Idris, Umno's Pantai Kundor assemblyperson Nor Azman Hassan, Bersatu's Paya Rumput assemblyperson Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen, and Bersatu's Telok Mas assemblyperson Noor Effandi Ahmad.
Though the Malacca government is led by Umno, Idris and Azman have been sidelined.
Malacca Umno threw its support behind party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who led a group of Umno MPs to withdraw support from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the Bersatu president.
The move led Muhyiddin to scramble to rebuild his collapsed parliamentary majority as tensions between Umno and Bersatu rose.
Idris, who is in the pro-Muhyiddin Umno faction and has been critical of Zahid, downplayed the significance of the meeting.
"They (Bersatu leaders) came to see me and I asked how they were doing. Coincidentally, Azman was also with me.
"I asked Rafiq about recent developments with regard to the prime minister's position and the federal government since he is a Bersatu vice president.
"I also consoled him that the prime minister will be fine as long as he advocates for the fate of the people. I gave him moral support.
"People talk about a plan to bring down the state government but there were no such discussions," Idris told Malaysiakini.
Idris, however, cautioned that if the two Bersatu leaders are pushed out of the Umno-led Malacca government, it could destabilise the state government.
"If they are both sacked, the state government will only have 15 seats left and we will be dependent on an independent assemblyperson Norhizam Hassan Baktee.
"As he is independent, he is not tied with any parties, this will leave 14 assemblypersons (in government) versus 14 assemblypersons (in the opposition)," he said.
In such a situation, Idris said he and Azman can play the role of kingmakers but stopped short of suggesting that they could withdraw support for the state government currently led by their party.
"I and Azman could become the deciders - kingmakers, because we do not agree with a number of decisions by Malacca Umno," he said.
Mohd Rafiq and Noor Effandi are the only two Bersatu assemlypersons in Malacca. Both are executive councillors in the state government.
Idris criticised Zahid's move against Muhyiddin and said his party president would do better to emulate the Umno-Bersatu unity government in Malacca.
"Our party president rejects the (federal) government and wants to bring down the prime minister but appears to have forgotten about the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
Idris expressed his support for Muhyiddin and also criticised Malacca Umno for backing Zahid.
A total of 15 Umno MPs have renounced Muhyiddin but the Pagoh MP still retains the support of the remaining 23 Umno MPs.
He now commands the support of 100 out of 220 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, 11 short of a simple majority. - Mkini
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