“Consequences” await Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob after he went against a party supreme council decision and stood with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
This is according to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Speaking to The Vibes yesterday, he said Ismail Sabri had initially agreed to toe the party line.
“Ismail Sabri was at the meeting and he agreed with the supreme council’s decision to withdraw support from Perikatan Nasional (PN), he even told supreme council members that he would follow the party’s decision.
“Any action taken against him will be based on the party’s constitution,” he was quoted as saying.
Zahid added that he will allow the Umno disciplinary board, headed by Zulhasnan Rafique, to act against Ismail Sabri.
“There will be consequences for his appearance, where he is not supporting the party’s decision from the meeting (on Tuesday).
“I will leave it to the disciplinary board to review his (Ismail Sabri’s) decision,” he said.
Ismail Sabri stood beside Muhyiddin yesterday when the latter defended his Dewan Rakyat majority and said he was ready to prove it during the September sitting.
A day before that, 11 Umno MPs, including Zahid, had rescinded support for the PM.
The Bagan Datuk lawmaker has since teased that more Umno defections are to be expected.
Umno ministers should resign
Meanwhile, Zahid told Utusan Malaysia that Umno ministers and deputy ministers ought to resign in accordance with the supreme council’s decision.
“It is up to them. If they obey the party, please resign like Shamsul (Anuar Nasarah) did,” he reportedly said.
Shamsul resigned from his post as the energy and natural resources minister on Tuesday, shortly before Zahid announced the supreme council’s decision.
Umno has eight ministers left in the PN cabinet: Ismail Sabri (deputy prime minister and defence minister), Hishammuddin Hussein (foreign affairs), Noraini Ahmad (higher education), Dr Adham Baba (health), Khairy Jamaluddin (science, technology and innovation), Reezal Merican Naina Merican (youth and sports), Halimah Siddique (national unity) and Annuar Musa (federal territories).
The party also has seven deputy ministers: Mastura Yazid (prime minister’s department), Zahidi Zainul Abidin (communications and multimedia), Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad (environment), Ismail Abd Muttalib (housing and local government), Ahmad Hamzah (agriculture and food industry), Ismail Mohamed Said (home affairs) and Abdul Rahman Mohamad (rural development).
Umno minister disagrees
One Umno minister went on a government-owned network Bernama TV last night to disagree with Zahid.
Annuar opined that Umno ministers need not toe the party line as they owed the rakyat their service during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Let’s say Khairy is busy with vaccinations and he suddenly quits the government. Is that responsible?
“It is the same with Adham who is responsible for health matters. Ismail as deputy prime minister. Hishammuddin is responsible for all Covid-19 matters. It so happens that all these ministers are from Umno.
“Just because of one order we have to put down everything, we can’t do that. We have to sit and think through this. Which comes first and which comes second. Which side to support or otherwise," he said on the Ruang Bicara programme entitled Politik: Apa lagi selepas ini? (Politics: What’s next?).
“There is one more month before Parliament sits,” he added. - Mkini
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