No ultimatum given to Ismail Sabri to dissolve Parliament, says Mahdzir Khalid

Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid. – Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Claims that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was given an ultimatum during Umno's political bureau meeting is aimed at splitting the party leadership, says Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

The Umno vice-president said there are some quarters outside the party who want to take advantage of latest developments in the party to gain political mileage by targetting the prime minister.

"No such thing, those are all lies. It is all made up by people, social media is the problem," he said when met by reporters at a programme here on Friday (Aug 26).

"It is like this, there are some people who are taking advantage of what is happening to split us.

"Everyone knows Ismail Sabri is the vice president and the Prime Minister while (Datuk Seri Dr) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is the president," he said.

Asked about the agenda of the special briefing tomorrow, Mahdzir said that it was more of an effort to strengthen the party.

Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan also denied that an ultimatum was given to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

"I want to inform you that it was not brought up once during the political bureau meeting.

"The meeting, which was held on Wednesday (Aug 24) night (which I also attended) went well although it was a sombre situation following the decision on Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razaks case," he said In a tweet on Friday (Aug 26).

Earlier, Umno Youth said legal action would be taken against two news portals for claiming that Ismail Sabri has been given an ultimatum to dissolve Parliament or risk being sacked by the party.

Its chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said what was reported was defamatory and of bad intent, adding that it was aimed at creating a negative perception of Umno.

"I have contacted the party president and discussed it with Umno lawyers to initiate legal action against the two news portals," he said in a Facebook post on Friday (Aug 26).

"They should have got it (information) from official sources and instead of quoting sources," he said.