KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Gombak candidate Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari has mocked caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for being a puppet after allegedly making a turnabout on the dissolution of Parliament.
During a campaign event in Selayang Baru, Amirudin claimed that Ismail Sabri told him that the 15th general election (GE15) would only be held next year, but was shocked when the dissolution was announced on October 10.
“He said he didn’t want GE15 this year because it would coincide with the flood season. He told me the election would be next year, I agreed. Suddenly, he made the decision to dissolve Parliament.
“Why did he do that? It’s because Ismail Sabri has become a puppet under the control of (Umno president Datuk Seri) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.”
Amirudin added that while PH wants to win the polls to better govern the country, Zahid wants an election to escape charges in court.
This appears to run contrary to statements made by Ismail Sabri in the past.
In the days after the dissolution, Ismail Sabri rubbished speculation that his decision to call for election was made after being pressured by Umno’s top guns.
“After the Johor election (in March), there were calls for dissolution. Every time there was an Umno assembly, it was the same. Umno has spoken about dissolution for a long time, but the question was of timing.
“(Previously) I never planned an appropriate date for the election. But when these issues (letter to Yang di-Pertuan Agong) cropped up, I saw that the government could not go on, and as such, I dissolved Parliament.”
He had also dismissed accusations by rival parties that the decision for a snap election was meant to free Umno’s court cluster from facing possible jail time.
He insisted that the move was to return the mandate to the rakyat, following months of political instability marred by accusations of the government’s illegitimacy.
Zahid had previously warned that more Barisan Nasional leaders face potential action if PH was allowed to return to federal power. – The Vibes, November 12, 2022
