Umno ministers to stay in Cabinet for now, says PM

PUTRAJAYA: Umno ministers have agreed to remain in the Cabinet and not relinquish their posts, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Prime Minister said this was the agreement achieved after a meeting between him and the ministers on Monday (March 29).

“The Umno ministers sought my advice on their position in the Cabinet following the decision of the Umno general assembly that the party would sever ties with Bersatu in the 15th general election.

“I have advised them to stay in the Cabinet. This is for the interest of the people and the country.

“Alhamdulillah, upon my advice, an agreement has been reached in which all Umno ministers will continue to remain in the Cabinet, ” said Muhyiddin in a statement Wednesday (March 31).

Muhyiddin said the government’s current focus is to battle the Covid-19 pandemic through the national immunisation programme and also to restore the economy.

“Several Umno ministers hold important portfolios related to this.

“Therefore, I do not want their resignations from the Cabinet to jeopardise the government’s plan on the pandemic and economic recovery, ” he said.

Muhyiddin added that the agreement with the ministers will ensure that the Cabinet will continue to function normally.

“All initiatives by the government will be carried out as planned, ” he said.

During its general assembly over the weekend, Umno passed a resolution of no cooperation with Bersatu and the Perikatan Nasional coalition in GE15.

Umno has also given its president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the supreme council the mandate to withdraw support for the Perikatan government “at any time it deems fit”.

Several Umno members, including party veteran Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, have called on those holding minister and deputy minister posts to resign immediately, following the resolutions that were passed.

In response, many Umno ministers said that they would only do so if instructed by the party’s supreme council.

The nine Umno ministers in the current Cabinet are Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (Health), Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah (Energy and Natural Resources), Tan Sri Annuar Musa (Federal Territories), Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad (Higher Education), Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (Foreign), Khairy Jamaluddin (Science, Technology and Innovation), Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique (National Unity) and Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (Youth and Sports).

The eight Umno deputy ministers are Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid (PM’s department – Special Functions), Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said (Home I), Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Communications and Multimedia), Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah (Agriculture and Food Industries I), Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad (Rural Development I), Datuk Dr Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad (Environment and Water), Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Abd Muttalib (Housing and Local Government) and Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Finance II).