IN a move that may create rifts within Perikatan Nasional (Perikatan), PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said he was not aware of an agreement to appoint a deputy prime minister between the former and Barisan Nasional (BN).
According to Malaysiakini, he also said that those who agreed to form a Government with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had already decided that there will be no such position.
“We are upholding (a decision) when the Government was formed that there will not be a deputy prime minister.
“We want to resolve problems faced by the rakyat. (PAS’ position is that) there will not be a deputy prime minister and there was no agreement to appoint a deputy prime minister,” Hadi was reported as saying.
Last week, Perikatan chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he had met Ismail Sabri to discuss the appointment of a deputy prime minister, ministers and new appointments at Government-linked companies (GLCs).
The move courted brickbats from many quarters, given that the public was still reeling from soaring inflation. Perikatan information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan stressed that there was written agreement on the matter between Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri.
However, UMNO information chief Shahril Hamdan shot back a day later saying there was no such agreement made in the first place. – July 8, 2022
