KUALA LUMPUR – The prime minister candidate championed by Barisan Nasional and Umno must not tie himself to any agreement to maintain the cabinet structure set up by the previous Perikatan Nasional administration, said Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki today.
“The candidate must also be loyal to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and deputy Agong, and set up a cabinet capable of bringing together all parties in the fight against Covid-19 and managing the well-being of the people and the national recovery agenda before the next general election.
“The Agong’s message as shared by our president (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) last night, ‘Yang menang tidak menang semua, yang kalah tidak kalah semua’ (The winner does not win all, the loser does not lose all),” he said in a Facebook post.
As the deadline to submit statutory declarations to Istana Negara looms, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the party will put forward a single name: Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the matter has been agreed on by the BN coalition.
In a tweet in the wee hours today, Ahmad said Zahid, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, BN adviser Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno Supreme Council members are united on this.
This comes on the heels of some Supreme Council members saying support for Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri is not yet a done deal.
They said the council has given MPs the freedom to pick their prime minister candidate.
“The negotiations are going to go down to the wire. Nothing is certain. Just wait for the SDs,” said a Supreme Council member.
MPs have been instructed to submit SDs to Istana Negara by 4pm today, naming one among them whom they wish to become prime minister.
This is according to a notice by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun sent to all members of the lower house yesterday.
In the notice, he said each lawmaker is to submit an SD clearly stating their support for one MP as the country’s ninth prime minister, following Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation from the top job on Monday. – The Vibes, August 18, 2021
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