Former national unity minister P Waytha Moorthy said Muhyiddin’s “open declaration of war” against BN clearly indicated that Bersatu did not have confidence in Ismail’s government.

“Open declaration of war in this manner shows the current government is fragile and may be susceptible to fall at any time.

“Muhyiddin’s statement indicates there is no guarantee the party (Bersatu) will support Budget 2023, which is expected to be tabled on Oct 7,” the Malaysian Advancement Party president said in a statement.

Last week, Muhyiddin said a general election should be held if Ismail could not manage the economy and country well, adding that there was a need for the people to go to the polls to elect a capable government.

Ismail has since rebuked his predecessor, saying Muhyiddin was just as responsible for any of the government’s shortcomings and that he had failed in his role as the government’s adviser.

At Bersatu’s sixth anniversary celebration on Saturday, Muhyiddin, who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman, then said the party’s main enemy at the next general election (GE15) was BN.

Budget 2023 will be tabled on Oct 7 in the next Dewan Rakyat sitting which starts next Monday.