KUALA LUMPUR - Rumours of Umno MPs lining up behind PKR chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have blindsided the party’s members and faction leaders, insiders tell The Vibes.
The Umno scuttlebutt has it that 10 MPs are supporting Anwar as frustration mounts with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
But that number is “merely rumoured”, said one Umno insider. “We are still confused as to whether there are such MPs clearly supporting Anwar or not. We have no idea who or what triggered this.”
There are currently seven Umno MPs in Muhyiddin’s cabinet.
Earlier today, The Vibes reported that about 15 Umno MPs backed Anwar after the opposition leader announced that he had a “strong, formidable and convincing” majority from among Dewan Rakyat MPs to form a new government.
Further confounding the matter is Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statement that “many” Umno MPs support Anwar and the party will not prevent any of its lawmakers from backing the opposition leader.
Sources say what is intriguing about Zahid’s statement is that “it was written before he boarded the flight from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur. No one else knew about this.”
It is understood that no other leader in Umno was consulted.
But Umno’s Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz has claimed that many of the party’s backbenchers are discontented with Muhyiddin and are willing to withdraw their support for the prime minister. He however stressed that these disgruntled MPs will remain in Umno.
Numbers are crucial, said an insider. “And while there may be a few permutations as to how Anwar can make this work, these raise more questions than answers.
“For example, is Umno willing to work with DAP? Or is DAP willing to work with Umno leaders who are facing corruption charges such as (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak and even Ahmad Zahid himself?”
Anwar had said yesterday that he would seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before revealing the names and numbers.
At the time of writing, Amanah and DAP - Anwar’s allies in Pakatan Harapan (PH) - have thrown their weight behind him. In terms of PH’s composition in the Dewan Rakyat, PKR has 39 seats while Amanah and DAP have 11 and 42 seats respectively.
But DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said in a statement yesterday that such endorsement is only valid “if Anwar has the numbers to form government”.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s faction is taking a wait-and-see approach while Sabah party Warisan has sidestepped the issue, saying it is focused on the upcoming state election on Saturday.
Muhyiddin and PN parties, including Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), have denied there were such overtures from Anwar to form a new government. - The Vibes, September 24, 2020.
