KUALA LUMPUR – Names of the candidates to replace former Bersatu member Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin in cabinet are ready but party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he is still waiting for a meeting with the prime minister.
He said the matter has yet to be resolved seeing that Zuraida resigned from the plantation industries and commodities portfolio more than two weeks ago.
Muhyiddin reiterated that the party’s quota in the cabinet should not be compromised, and urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to quickly decide on the matter.
“As for Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) matters, I do not want to interfere... I am just concerned with Bersatu and our position in the government. The ministerial posts (held by Zuraida) are part of the agreement with the prime minister and Barisan Nasional.
“If the PM wants to appoint Zuraida, it is in his right, but the Bersatu quota cannot be taken away. Who knows, he (prime minister) may want to create a new ministry for Zuraida, it is also in his rights to do so,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Two days ago Zuraida had said she hoped to be allowed to keep her portfolio even though she resigned from the cabinet and Bersatu on May 26.
On June 9, PBM named her president-designate and de facto leader effective immediately.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin as Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman said that coalition members Bersatu, PAS, and Gerakan met recently to discuss the direction ahead of the general election.
“PAS has its own view, but PN has its view too. I also had meetings and that there are no secrets or motives, but everything was discussed within PN.”
Earlier PAS vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah said the islamist party rejected the “big tent” approach, preferring the ummah unity agenda. – The Vibes, June 21, 2022
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