Umno supreme council backs Ismail but outlines demands

 

Umno Youth leader Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki leaving after the supreme council meeting at Menara Dato Onn. The supreme council has laid several demands before Prime Minister ismail sabri Yaakob, who is an Umno vice-president.

PETALING JAYA: The Umno supreme council has reaffirmed its support for Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister but has made it clear that the new administration must deliver, says a source in the know.

Speaking to FMT, the source said the party has also asked Ismail to look into several issues, including expediting institutional reforms.

These reforms, he said, included the separation of powers between the attorney-general and that of the public prosecutor, as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police.

The supreme council also wants Ismail to speed up the establishment of a Royal Commission on Inquiry into former AG Tommy Thomas and his claims in his memoir.

“It’s important because it affects the credibility of his actions in office,” the source.

Earlier this year, the party’s youth wing had also called for an RCI to investigate Thomas’ claims.

This included the admission by Thomas of having a hand in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Malaysia, the Court of Appeal president and the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak after a series of discussions with then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Umno, the source added, also informed Ismail that it wants the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to stop its “harassment” over the postponement of the party elections.

“Everything was done by the book and the RoS even gave its approval to postpone party polls because of Covid-19.”

Today’s meeting also agreed that the supreme council will meet the prime minister and the ministers from the party once a month “to strengthen the cooperation between Umno and the government”.

“We are doing this as this is the first time an Umno prime minister is not the party president and there are many ministers who are not sitting on the supreme council.

“So it is important that Umno and the government are on the same page,” the source said.

Ismail is the party’s vice-president.

The source added the party also made it clear they do not want Ismail’s administration to be known as a Perikatan Nasional government.

“We prefer that he calls it Kerajaan Keluarga Malaysia.” - FMT