KUALA LUMPUR – Umno naming incumbent Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as its prime ministerial candidate for the next general election (GE15) has received blessings from former ally PAS.
Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said PAS currently supports Ismail Sabri as the ninth PM, and called for the continuation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government and opposition bloc Pakatan Harapan until the dissolution of Parliament.
“This approach will certainly be supported by all on a bipartisan basis for the good of the country,” he said in a statement today.
Last night, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said in a statement that the party’s supreme council unanimously decided to field Ismail Sabri as its prime ministerial candidate.
He added that the MoU would no longer continue after it expires on July 31.
Early this year, there was speculation that Umno might name its deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan as prime minister candidate.
But Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi during the March general assembly said vice-president Ismail Sabri had always been the chosen one for the country’s top post.
Responding to questions as to who would lead Umno as the prime minister in the next general election, he vaguely hinted it would be between Mohamad and Ismail Sabri.
“If Tok Mat wants (to be the prime minister), just wait. If Tok Mat has ‘rezeki’, maybe after GE16. If Tok Mat’s ‘rezeki’ is in fact after GE15, then that’s his ‘rezeki’,” he said in jest. – The Vibes, April 15, 2022
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