KUALA LUMPUR: The move by 12 ministers from Perikatan Nasional (PN) to officially inform the King of their stand against having the 15th general election (GE15) this year has no bearing on his position, says Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the support for a prime minister is subject to receiving majority support from members of the Dewan Rakyat and not the Cabinet.
He added that the PN ministers’ letter did not threaten the government’s legitimacy and that the matter was only raised by those who did not understand the law.
On Oct 7, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan suggested that the action by the 12 PN ministers gave the impression that they had no confidence in Ismail as prime minister.
The letter from the 12 PN ministers seemed to be in response to Ismail having declared on Oct 4 that the decision to propose the dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for GE15 was his alone to make.
He stressed that other political parties had no say in the matter.
Meanwhile, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad, who is also the religious affairs minister, reaffirmed the party’s support for Ismail, saying disagreements with the head of government is normal.
“We support (Ismail). When did we say otherwise?” he told reporters after attending the Maulidur Rasul celebration at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.
He added that the move by the PN ministers was not a case of backstabbing Ismail.
Idris was responding to questions on whether the action by its ministers to oppose GE15 from being held this year meant that PAS had withdrawn its support for Ismail.