Zahid moots three DPMs if BN wins GE15

 

BN chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has suggested that the coalition appoint three deputy prime ministers if it wins the 15th general election (GE15).

He said the proposal is for there to be a deputy prime minister from Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia - appointed from BN and Sarawak's GPS.

“This is a new approach suggested by BN so that Sabah BN, GPS in Sarawak, and BN in the peninsula can include it in their manifestos,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Zahid (above) was speaking to the media after attending a BN event in Kimanis, Sabah today.

The Umno president was confident that caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob - who was also present - would take up the suggestion.

GPS is a Sarawak-based splinter of BN that broke off following the coalition’s defeat in the 2018 general election.

Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob

The deputy prime minister post is not defined in the Federal Constitution and thus there is no prohibition for a prime minister to appoint multiple deputies - or to forgo it as Ismail Sabri has done.

Ismail Sabri’s predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin had at the start of his administration appointed four senior ministers instead of a deputy prime minister.

However, he later appointed Ismail Sabri as deputy prime minister in an effort to retain Umno’s support.

While seemingly of high office, the deputy prime minister post on its own does not have any administrative or legal powers.

Instead, the deputy only gains some form of authority when serving as acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent - such as being abroad.

Thus, in practice, deputy prime ministers are usually also given a ministry to run in order for them to have administrative clout. - Mkini