KUALA LUMPUR – Many MPs from Umno will be throwing their support behind Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to form the new government, said party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said he was made aware that a number of lawmakers from the party and Barisan Nasional (BN) have backed Anwar as the next prime minister.
He maintained that Umno and BN were not components of Perikatan Nasional (PN), but that the support was only through Parliament.
“The support for the PN government was merely from the individual lawmakers.
“We will not stop our MPs from supporting Anwar, who has said that he intends to seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on his intentions (of forming a new government).
“I understand that many of our MPs have expressed support. I will respect their stand,” he said in a statement today.
However, Zahid did not specify if he would himself join the PKR president in forming the new government.
Earlier today, Anwar had claimed majority support in Parliament and insisted that the current administration of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin "has collapsed".
Anwar claimed that he now enjoys the backing of close to two-thirds of MPs, but refused to divulge numbers.
He had said that this would only be revealed later after he seeks an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who is currently warded for treatment at the National Heart Institute.
Anwar also claimed that he had a phone conversation with the King last night to inform His Majesty about this development. - The Vibes, September 23, 2020
