Umno leader: Most BN MPs rejected working with Anwar, DAP

 

Various issues were raised during the BN lawmakers meeting in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, among which is to withdraw support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, said Umno supreme council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin.

The majority of them, he added, rejected the possibility of working with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP.

“There were views (for us) to retract support for Muhyiddin. All sorts of views. But the majority of them said 'no Anwar Ibrahim, no DAP'," he told reporters after the four-hour meeting.

Zahidi said Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 general election by making electoral promises that they could not fulfil.

This included the abolition of tolled highway tolls and PTPTN loans, according to Zahidi.

Apart from that, he said some MPs preferred snap polls as soon as Covid-19 was under control.

"Some of us opined that the best is for an election (to be called). But we are facing Covid-19 situation," said Zahidi, who is also deputy communications and multimedia minister.

He then cited 30 other countries which held their general election during the pandemic, including those held in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

He said BN MPs opined that it should think of how to resolve the pandemic, then a poll could be held.

Umno had been pushing for snap polls in the past few months as its relationship with Bersatu turned sour.

Umno is a part of BN, which, together with Bersatu, PAS, GPS, and PBS, formed a political pact to govern the country following the "Sheraton Move". The political coup in February ousted the 22-month Pakatan Harapan federal government.

However, the relationship between Umno, Bersatu, and PAS has become increasingly complicated as they will be jostling for votes when contesting in the Malay heartland in the next general election.

Umno controls 39 parliamentary seats while Bersatu has 31 seats, followed by PAS with 18.

They have committed to entering the next general election as a coalition to avoid competing against each other.

While the ruling coalition is known as the PN government, Umno is not officially part of the PN coalition. PAS is officially part of PN.

Meanwhile, Umno and PAS had formed the political coalition Muafakat Nasional in September 2019. However, Muafakat has yet to be formally registered. - Mkini