Zahid on Muhyiddin's appointment: Umno leaves it to PM's wisdom

 

Umno appears to accept the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as the chairperson of the National Recovery Council (NRC) despite reports that leaders and MPs aligned to party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are unhappy about it.

In a statement today, Zahid said Umno leaves it to the wisdom of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in making the decision as he has the constitutional power to do so.

This came after The Vibes reported yesterday that many MPs were not satisfied with the selection of Muhyiddin, the very individual they forced out of Putrajaya just last month.

They felt that Muhyiddin should not be given the position considering his failure in administering the country in his 17 months in power.

"I received many inquiries and read various comments which asked about Umno's position on the cabinet formation and the appointment of the former prime minister as the NRC chairperson with ministerial status," said Zahid.

"The party has taken a stand in supporting the appointment of Ismail Sabri as the premier. This means the party leaves it to the wisdom of the premier in making the decisions or policies he felt appropriate in helming the administration," he said.

"Our stand is that the prime minister has the constitutional power (to do so) and it becomes his responsibility to ensure the government functions properly and does not repeat the mistake of the previous government," he said.

"Umno is consistent in its stance," he added.

As for Umno, he said the party will continue to play the role of a balancing force that moves in unison with the people.

Zahid reiterated that the next general election should be called once the pandemic begins to subside and the country achieves herd immunity.

He also pledged that Umno, as the largest Malay-based party, will not compromise in wanting to contest all its traditional seats, including those seats it won under the BN ticket but whose lawmakers had defected to another party.

"We cannot compromise and (the seats) must be taken back," he said.

After Umno was defeated in the 2018 general election, 15 of its MPs had defected to Bersatu. - Mkini