Muhyiddin has 35 SDs in hand but they may not be for himself

PETALING JAYA: Recently resigned Prime Minister and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has 35 signed statutory declarations in hand, but it has yet to be known for whom they are all for.

A source said that the 35 SDs will all be for one person alone, as Bersatu decided on Monday (Aug 16) night to go en bloc to show their strength in choosing a Prime Minister.

The source further stated that all 31 Bersatu MPs and four independent MPs aligned to Bersatu have put down their signatures in solidarity last night to follow whichever Muhyiddin and topmost party leaders choose, says the source.

The four independent MPs were former PKR MPs who left the opposition to lend their support to Perikatan Nasional.

This included Julau MP Larry Sng and Kuala Langat MP Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar.

A meeting of the MPs took place at the Perikatan headquarters in Damansara as soon as Muhyiddin announced his resignation on television on Aug 16.

Just an hour before that, the Bersatu supreme council met separately in another meeting chaired by party secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin.

“We signed the statutory declarations as advised by Hamzah, who was sent by Muhyiddin to urge all the MPs to work en bloc as only then can we get a strong number behind whoever the prime minister candidate may be.

“We agreed to support Muhyiddin as our number one candidate as he is our president and chair of the Perikatan Nasional coalition, and we feel he was forced out unfairly by those who were too greedy for power and their selfish needs.

“However, our second option is Umno’s Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as he has stood by us.

“He was also the deputy prime minister for Perikatan government,” said the source.

The source further said that at the Bersatu meeting of MPs, Hamzah stressed the need to stay together and if we did not come as 34 MPs, we will not be strong as the other blocs such as PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, which always plays as an en bloc when it comes to giving support for the government.

“We are a relatively new party and we have a few factions which must come together.

“Many of us are resigned to the fact that we may have to forgo the prime minister’s post but if we don’t stick together, we may not even be a part of the Perikatan government.

“The aim is to keep Perikatan intact and not let it crumble before the next general election,” said the source.

There are currently 220 MPs in Dewan Rakyat and the possibility of parties such as Parti Pejuang Tanah Air led by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad abstaining from supporting Perikatan or Pakatan Harapan remains high.

There are also attempts by both sides being made to woo Parti Warisan Sabah’s eight MPs led by Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, with Pakatan Harapan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said to have offered Shafie the post of deputy prime minister should the former get the post of the premier.

The King will begin to meet party leaders on Tuesday (Aug 17) to begin the process of finding which MP is most likely to command the majority of the Dewan Rakyat, so that he or she can be appointed as the country’s ninth Prime Minister, in accordance with the Federal Constitution.