KUALA LUMPUR – Sepanggar MP Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman is calling on opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to give up his pursuit of the prime minister’s post should he be unable to secure the simple majority required to form the government.
In a series of tweets today, the Warisan Youth chief instead recommended for his party president, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, to secure the required number of MPs if the Port Dickson MP fails in his bid.
“Warisan will support DSAI for PM if DSAI can get past the magic number and hope PH will give right of first refusal to Shafie if DSAI can't get past the magic number,” Azis tweeted.
Warisan will support DSAI for PM if DSAI can get pass the magic number and hope PH will give right of first refusal to Shafie if DSAI cant get pass the magic number.
— Mohd Azis Bin Jamman (@azisjms) August 17, 2021
When asked about the “magic number”, Azis explained it is the minimum of 111 MPs out of 220.
“As it stands today, opposition is at 105 MPs so we are short of 7 extra MPs,” he tweeted.
The former deputy home minister also tweeted that both leaders should meet face to face and reveal their level of support prior to submitting their statutory declarations (SDs) to the king.
“Whoever gets the highest should be given the chance to write their name on the SD,” he further tweeted.
He said at present, the opposition bloc remains at 105 MPs, including Warisan.
“We hope DSAI can get 7 more to cross the 111 number.”
The tweets come after it was reported that Shafie has emerged as the dark horse in the race to be prime minister.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had last year floated the idea of Shafie becoming prime minister as an alternative to Anwar.
According to insiders, a gentlemanly agreement exists between Shafie and the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. While Warisan is not under the PH banner, it has presented itself as an ally in most cases.
PH currently has 88 MPs comprising DAP’s 42, PKR’s 35 and Amanah’s 11 MPs.
The remaining 17 allies are from Warisan, Pejuang, opposition friendly independents, Parti Sarawak Bersatu and Upko, with some said to be rooting for Shafie to be prime minister.
A source told The Vibes that Shafie had been approached by several MPs that could possibly put the PH-Warisan deal over the majority hump needed to secure the top job.
But this comes with the condition that Shafie be named prime minister.
The source, however, said PKR is adamant on Anwar taking up the top job. – The Vibes, August 17, 2021
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