KUALA LUMPUR: Ahead of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s press conference today (Dec 14), Barisan Nasional secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa says that anyone is free to declare their stand in politics.
“As you know, Malaysian politics is very dynamic, let’s face it. I don’t think we have any problem with that.
“Anyone is free to make their stand and what direction they want to go. They have liberty to do so. So, I cannot comment on anything," he said.
Dr Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh are set to have a joint press conference at 4pm today, fuelling rumours that the two veterans are finally joining forces after years as adversaries.
The two leaders have consistently criticised Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin since the formation of the Perikatan Nasional government.
Annuar also dismissed news reports of Umno MPs signing statutory declarations (SDs) in support of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s bid for premiership as merely “rumours” to divide Barisan MPs.
“I have heard some rumours. So, let’s see what will actually transpire from the afternoon press conference. We are quite open, ” he told a press conference in Parliament on Monday (Dec 14).
Asked to elaborate, Annuar said he remains unconvinced that Umno MPs have signed SDs in support of Anwar as prime minister.
“Honestly speaking, I’m concerned that such rumours are amplified to sow distrust among us. So, we must be careful.
“As the secretary-general of Barisan, I can only comment on official matters and facts. I cannot comment on rumours," he said.
Annuar also pointed out that the Opposition had failed on numerous occasions to derail ministry allocations under Budget 2021 via bloc voting in Parliament despite talk that Anwar has adequate support from MPs to be premier.
“That is politics today, ” he quipped.
Last weekend, a news portal reported that at least 10 Umno MPs have signed SDs in support of Anwar as prime minister.
The report also stated that Anwar would present the SDs to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong soon.
While PKR’s top leadership has kept mum regarding the report, its communications director Fahmi Fadzil dismissed the report as a “fishing expedition”, and questioned the portal for running a story quoting a single unnamed source without seeking verification.
Several Umno MPs have also openly denied signing SDs in support of Anwar as premier since.
All eyes are on Malaysian politics this week as Budget 2021 is set to be passed at the end of the committee stage debates on Tuesday (Dec 15).
After Tuesday the debates on non-government bills will take place until Thursday (Dec 17), where MPs from both sided of the divide are pushing for a no-confidence or a confidence motion to be tabled in Parliament to determine the Perikatan government’s support.
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