KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s remark about DAP disrespecting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong over the issue involving the election date may be an implicit message to his fellow Umno leaders, said Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
The DAP secretary-general opined that his party was simply made a scapegoat, as the prime minister did not want to offend those in Umno who have been constantly pushing for an early election.
In a Facebook post, Loke asserted that he had never questioned the power of the king to consent for the dissolution of Parliament as enshrined in the federal constitution.
He maintained that his previous criticism of Ismail Sabri had only centred around the latter’s supposed flip-flopping over the election date.
“The ones pressing the prime minister to dissolve Parliament are Umno leaders, but the one blamed is DAP! Is this DAP’s fault?”
“I think the prime minister’s statement is actually aimed at the Umno leaders who are pushing him to dissolve Parliament,” he said in the post last night.
“He just can’t say that Umno is the one disrespecting the Agong, so DAP is made the victim in the internal squabbling of Umno.”
In a previous statement on June 2, Loke had told Ismail Sabri to be firm and consistent in his stance pertaining to the date for the upcoming general election, chiding the Umno vice-president for his apparent back-pedalling.
This is after Ismail Sabri said during the Barisan Nasional convention last Wednesday that he would not delay even for a second to dissolve Parliament if he felt the coalition was ready.
Loke had noted that this remark contradicted a previous statement by the prime minister when he told Nikkei Asia that the current inflation meant the timing was not ripe for an election.
In response to Loke, Ismail Sabri yesterday said the power to dissolve Parliament and announce a new date for the national polls lies solely with the king and that he only has the capacity to advise the ruler.
“The final say is in the hands of the Agong... I cannot give an exact date because that would be me overtaking the role of the Agong, which would be constitutionally wrong, since the deciding power lies with the King.
“DAP might not respect the Agong, but I have high regards for Seri Paduka Baginda (His Royal Highness),” Ismail Sabri had said.
Several Umno leaders, including president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, his predecessor Datuk Seri Najib Razak and current number two Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, have been pushing for early polls, citing electoral momentum and the opposition’s current fractiousness. – The Vibes, June 6, 2022
