KUALA LUMPUR – Caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had not even informed the cabinet of Parliament’s dissolution, much less brought up the issue, said Mersing MP Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad.
In a statement today, Latiff, who is the caretaker minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (special functions), chided Ismail Sabri for saying yesterday that he should have sacked Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers who disagreed with the early dissolution of Parliament.
Latiff reminded Ismail Sabri that he had never once asked the cabinet to discuss the dissolution and to vote on the matter, stressing that all decisions made by the cabinet should be done by consensus.
The cabinet meetings before the dissolution had discussed flood preparations, challenges associated with holding elections during floods, and Budget 2023, but nothing on holding the 15th general election this year.
“On the matter (of GE15), YAB PM9 (Ismail Sabri) had never asked for a mandate from cabinet members on the date of the dissolution of Parliament.
“If YAB PM9 had made his intention to dissolve Parliament clear, I’m sure the cabinet members would have agreed and given the mandate to YAB PM9.
“In fact, on the morning of Friday, October 7, 2022, a senior minister had asked ‘bila nak bubar?’ (when will Parliament be dissolved?), but YAB PM9 remained cryptic with the ministers.”
Budget 2023 was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on October 7. On October 10, Ismail Sabri announced Parliament’s dissolution.
Yesterday, during a ceramah in Bagan Datuk, Ismail Sabri said that he should have sacked all 12 PN ministers who sent a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, objecting to Parliament’s early dissolution and the holding of elections during the year-end flood season.
Latiff, who is with Bersatu in the PN coalition, said although Ismail Sabri’s statements were cynical and could have been in jest, they should not have been said during a political event.
“I know that the prime minister has the power to ‘hire and fire’ but we have dignity too, no need to fire us, we would have resigned much earlier,” he said. – The Vibes, October 19, 2022
