SDs not discussed within BN - MIC president

 

BN has never discussed the statutory declarations (SDs) related to supporting the formation of coalitions or the prime ministerial candidate, said MIC president SA Vigneswaran.

As such, he said, no such agreement about the matter was made within BN.

“This SD issue was never brought to the attention of the BN leaders’ meeting because it was never discussed.

“Any SD needs to get the approval of the BN supreme council, only then it is valid.

“Until there is an agreement from the BN supreme council, it is not valid,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini.

This includes agreements signed by every BN candidate prior to nomination day, he said.

He said this when asked to comment on Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan’s statement that any SDs, aside from the ones signed while they were BN candidates, were invalid.

Earlier, it was reported that BN candidates had signed SDs giving BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi the prerogative to hold negotiations with other parties and coalitions in forming the new government.

If the winning BN candidate goes against this, they would automatically lose their party membership in line with anti-hopping legislation.

However, Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin said he received SDs from BN parliamentarians supporting him as the prime minister candidate.

Meanwhile, Vigneswaran said BN would hold negotiations with PN shortly.

“We already held negotiations with Pakatan Harapan today. (We) will hold negotiations with PN in the near future.

“Maybe tonight together with (Umno deputy president) Mohamad Hasan and (MCA president) Wee Ka Siong,” he said. - Mkini