Umno veep Khaled says supreme council will decide party's PM candidate, not individuals

PETALING JAYA: The Umno supreme council will decide on the party's prime minister candidate and not any individuals, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The Umno vice-president said such a decision will only be made if Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin tendered his resignation, as is widely expected.

"The supreme council will decide," he said on Monday (Aug 16).

Khaled had been asked to confirm whether there had been a meeting to decide on Umno's prime minister candidate.

It is learnt that the decision was made, among others, after a meeting between the top five leaders in Umno late Sunday (Aug 15) evening.

According to a report by Malay news outlet Berita Harian, the meeting was attended by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

It was also attended by the three vice-presidents, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Mohamed Khaled.

When asked if there would be any more meetings on Monday, Khaled was non-committal.

"Not sure yet," he replied briefly.

Meanwhile, Umno executive secretary Datuk Sumali Reduan, while confirming Sunday's meeting, said he had been informed that Umno has yet to plan for a supreme council meeting.

The spotlight will be on Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who is expected to submit his resignation as Prime Minister during his scheduled audience with the King at Istana Negara on Monday. But the focus will be on who will take over as the next prime minister.

The ball will be in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s court to decide which MP has the majority to form the government.