NAJIB & ZAHID PREPARE TO DUMP MUHYIDDIN – UMNO SUPREME COUNCIL DISCUSSES ‘POSSIBILITY’ OF SNAP POLLS – EVEN AS GREEDIEST-EVER 95-YEAR-OLD MAHATHIR DEMANDS TO BE PM CANDIDATE & STAY PM FOR AT LEAST A YEAR

THE Umno Supreme Council yesterday discussed the possibility of a snap election, said Annuar Musa.

He said the discussion did not go into specifics.

“We merely discussed the possibility of snap election in general. But it’s not an issue yet and just speculation. As such, we didn’t talk about seat allocation,” said the Federal Territories minister yesterday at the Putra World Trade Centre.

Annuar, who is the Ketereh MP, said the party leadership also did not discuss Bersatu’s bid to join Muafakat Nasional or register Perikatan Nasional.

Umno advisory board chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah attended yesterday’s meeting.

Talk of a snap election has gained traction in recent weeks as speculation mounts over Perikatan Nasional’s numbers in parliament and a counter-coup by Pakatan Harapan.

Since the change of government in February, PH has been gearing up to face off Perikatan Nasional in possible snap polls.

The Perikatan Nasional government is made up of 115 MPs from Barisan Nasional (43), Bersatu (33), PAS (18), GPS (18) and in Sabah (4).

The opposition has 107 MPs from DAP (42), PKR (37), Amanah (11), Warisan (9), Upko (1) and nine independents.

PKR’s Lubok Antu MP recently quit the party to declare support for Muhyiddin Yassin’s government

Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the party wing was preparing for early elections as Pakatan Harapan was “playing up the instability of the government.”

Asyraf said it was hoped that polls would not be called before the end of the year.

“We cannot avoid elections. But we hope that they will be held after the Covid-19 threat is over,” he said after yesterday’s meeting.

Pakatan yet to pick PM candidate, says Saifuddin

Pakatan chief secretary Saifuddin Nasution Ismail says an official statement on the pact’s candidate for prime minister will be made when the decision is finalised. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, June 16, 2020.

PAKATAN Harapan is still discussing its choice of candidate for prime minister, said Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, as rumours swirled today about who would lead the coalition.

In a brief statement, the PH chief secretary said all reports on the pact’s candidate for prime minister were baseless and had not been issued by PH or PH Plus.

“While we respect the views and comments from various parties, I wish to announce that discussions are still ongoing with our partners and opposition partners,” he said tonight.

“An official statement will be made when a candidate is finalised.”

Earlier today, The Malaysian Insight had reported that PH was in a limbo again as its parties could not agree to how long Dr Mahathir Mohamad should stay on as prime minister should the coalition return to power.

After managing to come to an agreement that Dr Mahathir should be prime minister with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as his deputy, the pact is now stuck on a timeline.

Dubbed “PH Plus”, leaders met last Saturday to cobble together an agreement as part of preparations for possible snap polls as the current Perikatan Nasional government teeters on a slim parliamentary majority.

PH Plus comprises Amanah, PKR, DAP, Warisan and the four MPs aligned to Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

At the meeting, a suggestion was made that Dr Mahathir be prime minister for a year instead of the six months originally proposed, a source said.

It cannot be verified which party had proposed six months and 12 months.

This meeting did not reach a unanimous agreement on Dr Mahathir being the prime minister candidate.

Just as PKR was warming up to the idea because of the six-month limit, the party was shocked by a suggestion on Saturday that Dr Mahathir stay for a full year.

PH Plus was scheduled to meet today to resolve the issue but the meeting was cancelled as Sabah Chief Minister and Warisan president Shafie Apdal could not attend.

Since the change of government in February, PH has been re-organising itself to face Perikatan Nasional in possible snap polls.

The Straits Times had quoted Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan saying last week that Muhyiddin might call for fresh elections to confirm a mandate.

Currently, the Perikatan Nasional government is made up of 115 MPs comprising Barisan Nasional (43), Bersatu (33), PAS (18), GPS (18) and four from Sabah.

The opposition has 107 MPs, comprising DAP (42), PKR (37), Amanah (11), Warisan (9), Upko (1) and nine independents.

However, one from PKR (Lubok Antu) quit the party recently and declared support for Muhyiddin’s government.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT