UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi has called on Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to publicly disclose the identities of the 10 Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs who allegedly signed statutory declarations (SDs) supporting his bid to become prime minister in 2022.
This comes after Muhyiddin, who is also the Pagoh MP, submitted the SDs and other documents to the police as part of an investigation into his recent comments. He had expressed disappointment that the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah did not invite him to form the government after he claimed to have secured 115 SDs following the 15th General Election (GE15).
In a Facebook post last night (Aug 21), Puad argued that merely handing over the SDs to the police was insufficient. He urged Muhyiddin to obtain public acknowledgment from the non-PN MPs involved, to verify the authenticity of the SDs.
“As such, Muhyiddin is challenged to call the non-PN MPs to confirm that the SDs are real. The SDs may have been manipulated to confuse the masses who don’t know the true story.
“The palace knows the true story. Hence, Muhyiddin must apologise to the previous Agong,” he wrote.
Muhyiddin’s 2022 declaration claimed support from 74 PN MPs, as well as backing from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) with 22 SDs, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) with six SDs, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Malaysia (KDM) with one SD, and 10 BN MPs, in addition to two independent MPs.
Moreover, the identities of the 10 BN MPs have never been publicly confirmed. However, MCA deputy president Mah Hang Soon hinted that the party’s two MPs had signed the SDs, allegedly persuaded by a senior BN leader.
While GPS and GRS initially supported Muhyiddin, they later withdrew their backing after BN leader Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi managed to align BN MPs with PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Both GPS and GRS eventually shifted their support to Anwar, following the former Agong’s advice to form a “unity government”.
Furthermore, Muhyiddin had declined an invitation to form a unity government with Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan.
Speaking at a Felda event in Kelantan on Aug 14, Muhyiddin expressed confusion over why he was not summoned by Sultan Abdullah to be sworn in as prime minister after securing the SDs.
His remarks have since angered the Pahang royal family, though Muhyiddin maintains that his statements were factual and not intended to insult the monarchy. – Aug 22, 2024
Main photo credit: Sinar Harian
