PETALING JAYA: PPBM leader A Kadir Jasin said Muhyiddin Yassin’s candidacy as the country’s eighth prime minister was never endorsed by the Supreme Council, as cracks began to appear in the party.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the veteran newsman said the Supreme Council, of which he is a member, was never invited for a discussion or informed about the matter.
“The council’s stand on this matter, made on Monday, is for Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) to remain as prime minister,” he said in a Facebook post.
Earlier today, 36 PPBM MPs nominated their president for the top post at a meeting after Istana Negara’s announcement that it would meet political leaders before making a decision.
The meeting today was also attended by PPBM’s 10 new MPs — the group of PKR MPs who quit the party following the sacking of its deputy president, Mohamed Azmin Ali.
About an hour later, PAS and Umno confirmed that all their 57 MPs would back the PPBM president. Both Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa and his PAS counterpart, Takiyuddin Hassan, confirmed the support in a brief statement.
MCA has also thrown its support behind Muhyiddin.
Kadir, who is also the special adviser on media and communications to Mahathir, reportedly said he was not surprised that Umno and PAS are backing Muhyiddin.
“Unlike Dr Mahathir, who said he would accept individual MPs from Umno, Muhyiddin was prepared to welcome them as a party.”
Kadir went on to say that Mahathir’s stand was to always respect the mandate of the people who had rejected kleptocrats in the May 9 polls.
“He also reminded the Supreme Council several times that Umno was desperate to form a unity government with PPBM as judgement day for its leaders, who have been charged in court, is nearing.”
PPBM, of which Mahathir is chairman, pulled out of the ruling coalition earlier this week. This later led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.
Meanwhile, Malaysiakini quotes Bersatu supreme council member Redzuan Yusof as refuting Kadir’s claim that the party’s decision to name Muhyiddin as a prime minister candidate is not a solid decision.
Redzuan insisted that Muhyiddin has solid support from Bersatu leaders, adding, “I don’t know about that … That is his opinion. From what we saw today, Muhyiddin has solid support.
“If Kadir says he (Muhyiddin) did not get solid support, we had a meeting this morning and a statement has been issued by the party secretary-general.
“If the number is not solid, I do not know how (much) more solid it can be,” he added.
Redzuan also told reporters that it is time for the country to move forward. “… I think we have some positive outcome of whatever we see today, and, hopefully, we can get back to strengthening the nation towards prosperity.”
On speculation that the Bersatu meeting outcome sacrificed Dr Mahathir’s principle not to work with Umno, Redzuan says that it is a matter of perception. “This is a perception. We cannot say that people in a group are evil, robbers and thieves.
“We have laws to deal with it. So we are not sacrificing the principle.
“The principle is the same as what we had taken before in Pakatan Harapan,” he says. – Feb 28, 2020
