KUALA LUMPUR – Machang MP Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub today said his decision to withdraw support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is his own, without outside influence.
In a statement, the Umno leader denied that his action was meant to trigger a general election, adding that he did not declare support for anyone else when making the announcement on Saturday.
“I made the decision with utmost sincerity for the sake of the rakyat and my party.
“I must also note that I was not the first to withdraw support (for Muhyiddin). I am the second, after Gua Musang MP (Tan Sri) Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.”
The Kelantan Umno liaison chief said he made the decision out of respect for a memorandum presented to him by the state chapter, calling for a withdrawal of support.
“The decision, made at a meeting prior to my announcement, was unanimous.”
In his press conference over the weekened, Jazlan said he is pulling his support for Muhyiddin based on a desire to pursue principles set by Barisan Nasional.
His move leaves the ruling Perikatan Nasional with only 110 of 220 parliamentary seats. The opposition holds 108, with the remaining two being Jazlan and Tengku Razaleigh’s.
Following the announcement, fellow party man Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, who is Padang Rengas MP, said more lawmakers are expected to follow suit, adding that any decision will be made individually, and not en bloc.
Jazlan said he has no choice but to retract support for Muhyiddin as it would not be right for him, as Kelantan Umno chief, to disregard members’ calls.
He listed nine reasons for his decision, including the government’s failure to address the Covid-19 pandemic, worsening economy, worrying unemployment figures, and not heeding Umno’s demands over a loan moratorium extension and one-time Employees Provident Fund withdrawals.
The other reasons are the “stealing” of Umno members, lack of attention given to university students, neglecting the middle-income group, failure to unfreeze Umno’s accounts and funds frozen when Pakatan Harapan was in power, and not standing up in the case of the late firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a riot at a Hindu temple in Subang in late 2018. – The Vibes, January 11, 2021
