Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin has defended the coalition's move to send a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to record their objections for the 15th general election (GE15) to be held this year.
"It is normal for the party representatives to send a letter to anyone," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
Hamzah said he understood why caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has to take the PN ministers to task for what the latter claimed resulted in the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10.
"Prior to that, he said (last week) that it was normal, and a few days later he came out with another statement saying it was not normal. I think something is wrong here.
"(However), I understand that this may happen because when we had a discussion in the cabinet. Sometimes, we have to be mindful of our responsibility in representing a certain political party.
"I think we have no choice. The same with the prime minister. If the party asks him to do something, he has only to listen and do it accordingly," Hamzah added.
Hamzah also denied that the move had caused tension among the cabinet members.
"No. We are still friends. The very last day we had our cabinet meeting on Oct 7, we discussed whatever needed to be discussed and I think we are all friends. We are mature enough to understand our respective position," he said.
Yesterday, Ismail Sabri said the act of penning a letter to the ruler had undermined the prime minister's institution and the solidarity among members of the federal administration.
The prime minister's latest remarks were contrary to what he said two days ago, where he regarded the ministers' letter to the king as irrelevant to the legitimacy of the government.
At the time, Ismail Sabri had said it was not tantamount to a withdrawal of support from government MPs.
Caretaker Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah clarified that the move of the PN ministers was only meant to voice the concerns of the people so that the election is not held during the monsoon season when there is the possibility of flooding.
"The people also want the government to focus fully on economic recovery measures, keep inflation in check as well as providing employment," he said in a social media posting today.
"PN will continue prioritising the interests of the people, especially in this challenging period," Saifuddin said.
"I am sure that the people know why the caretaker prime minister wants to call for GE15 in the near future. It is none other than the pressure and insistence by the Umno president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
"Therefore, the prime minister should not divert the attention of the people from the issues faced by them," Saifuddin added. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.