PETALING JAYA: Bersatu can play kingmaker if the new government is led by Barisan Nasional with Umno’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister.
Klang MP Charles Santiago and political analyst Azmi Hassan, commenting on a statement yesterday by Perikatan Nasional (PN), told FMT the coalition was making it clear its support of a BN-led government came with strings attached.
Bersatu is the dominant partner in PN. Muhyiddin Yassin, the Bersatu president and PN chairman, said in the statement that no one from the so-called “court cluster” should be in the new Cabinet. He was referring to Umno MPs facing charges in court.
Santiago said the new government would collapse if Bersatu’s 31 MPs were to withdraw from it.
He said the party could now hit back at Umno for all it had done when Muhyiddin was leading the administration.
“Is it payback time? Is Ismail Sabri obliged to listen to Bersatu if he becomes prime minister?” he asked.
Two weeks ago, 15 Umno MPs withdrew their support for PN and Muhyiddin, leading to the collapse of the government. Muhyiddin tendered his resignation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Aug 17.
PN and Umno have now agreed to propose Ismail as the prime minister while the opposition has appointed Anwar Ibrahim as its candidate.
The King is expected to name the new prime minister after a meeting with his brother rulers today. He met the MPs backing Ismail yesterday.
Santiago said he expected Bersatu to continue reminding Umno that it held the ace in the hole, especially in times of disagreement on issues.
Azmi said it was unlikely that any MP facing court charges would be included in the new Cabinet, and that PN’s statement was a “reminder to Umno that Bersatu is now the kingmaker”.
He said the statement was worded to show Umno that “Bersatu has the power”.
“It’s almost like payback time,” he added. - FMT
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