TWO days ago, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob made a bizarre statement which riled up the DAP.
In a report by Astro Awani, the Prime Minister accused the DAP of flip-flopping when it came to when the former would dissolve the Parliament to make way for a general election.
“The DAP may not respect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but I do. The decision rests with the monarch. The Cabinet would give me the mandate to advise the Agong on the matter but at the end, the decision rests with His Majesty.
“It would be wrong for me to decide on the date to dissolve the Parliament and the final say must come from Istana Negara. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries,” he was reported as saying.
His statement drew criticism from netizens for sidestepping the fact that it was his own party, UMNO, that was openly calling for snap polls, not the DAP.
“Najib & Zahid pushing for GE. Ismail blames DAP instead because he is afraid of those two. Lame PM. Just like Mahiaddin,” said user iCarus.
Echoing iCarus sentiments, user Zainal Aziz added:
(The one calling for early election are Zahid and Najib but DAP gets blamed for it)
Netizen Badrul-Kun jested:
(I think if his kid gets divorced, he will blame DAP. If his son, Dafi happens to be gay, he will blame DAP. Ismail Sabri will even blame DAP if he accidentally wets himself).
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Government and Pakatan Harapan last year, Ismail Sabri agreed to the clause that the Parliament would not be dissolved before July 31 this year.
The “political ceasefire period” was accorded so as to ensure the Prime Minister can enact several reforms, including the anti-hopping law, to provide stability to the Government.
It is to note that in April, UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the party’s supreme council had decided that there is no need to extend the MoU beyond July 31.
The DAP deserves it
In an interview with Nikkei last week, Ismail Sabri said that he has no plans to dissolve the Parliament anytime soon due to soaring inflation and food supply shortage.
However, the Bera MP said at the party convention over the week that he would not waste “even a minute” to dissolve the Parliament if the timing was right for UMNO.
His statement drew a sharp retort from DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke who accused Ismail Sabri of flip-flopping. In return, the latter accused the former of disrespecting the Agong.
On that note, several netizens hit back at the DAP over the matter, adding the party deserved it considering they signed the MoU with UMNO despite knowing the latter’s shenanigans.
(You all know that UMNO is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and yet you still deal with them. Stupid)
Netizen Turnera remarked:
(Then why sign the MoU? Just “press the button”) – June 7, 2022.
