UMNO supreme council Datuk Dr Puad Zakarshi has called on MUDA to go ahead with its promise to withdraw support from the coalition government if it has the courage to do so.
Puad argued that MUDA’s recent warning issued two days ago was merely a response to not being accepted into the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
He expressed the view that MUDA need not resort to threats of support withdrawal or taking to the streets but should simply withdraw its support for the coalition government if it is resolute in its stance.
“MUDA doesn’t need to issue warnings about pulling back support or taking to the streets. Just withdraw (support for the coalition government) if you are man enough. Furthermore, MUDA has ‘unofficially’ quit from the coalition government, by contesting solo in the six state elections.
“And all of them (MUDA’s candidates) lost their deposits. It was MUDA that crossed the ‘red line’,” Puad said on Facebook today.
Puad’s remarks came in response to a statement by MUDA president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman who had called on the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to provide a detailed explanation for granting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) in the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.
The MUDA chief had termed the DNAA decision a significant “red line” and warned that MUDA might re-evaluate its position within the coalition government, potentially depriving it of a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Moreover, MUDA had also indicated its intention to organise street protests on the matter.
Puad urged MUDA not to employ its threat to withdraw support from the government as a means to gain acceptance into the PH coalition.
“What other explanation do you want? Looks like MUDA is too lazy to read the 11 reasons cited by the prosecutor.”
Furthermore, the reasons cited included allowing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct additional investigations, investigating the possibility of selective prosecution and awaiting the findings of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into former attorney-general Tommy Thomas’ memoir.
Challenging Syed Saddiq directly, Puad proposed that he vacate his Muar parliamentary seat instead of resorting to threats that could undermine the government’s two-thirds majority.
“Can MUDA win Muar and Puteri Wangsa (state seats whose representative is MUDA deputy president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz) without PH’s support?
“They wouldn’t dare (pull out support). They are mere threats,” the Johor state assembly speaker claimed.
Currently, the government holds 147 seats in the Dewan Rakyat and if MUDA carries out its threat, it would reduce the government’s majority to 147 MPs, potentially impacting its ability to amend the Federal Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority. – Sept 7, 2023
Main photo credit: Sumberkini
