PN ministers will quit if you want, Abdul Latiff tells Ismail Sabri

PETALING JAYA: There is still time for Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to "create history" by firing 12 ministers from an interim Cabinet, says Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad (pic).

The caretaker Special Functions Minister, one of the 12 Perikatan Nasional ministers who wrote to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong over the dissolution of Parliament, said however that while the Prime Minister had the power to hire and fire, ministers also had their dignity.

ALSO READ: I was forced to dissolve Parliament to prevent disharmony, says Ismail Sabri

"We can resign, no need to fire us," Abdul Latiff said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 19).

He was responding to Ismail Sabri's statement on Monday (Oct 17) that he made a mistake by not firing the 12, but held back from doing so because he was a nice person.

ALSO READ: PN ministers who wrote to King were just following orders, says Ismail Sabri

"Ismail Sabri never sought a Cabinet mandate on the dissolution in a transparent and sincere manner, which we would have agreed to," said Abdul Latiff.

"He also did not respond to a senior minister's query on Oct 7 on the date of Parliament's dissolution," he claimed.

In their Oct 6 letter to the King, the 12 Perikatan ministers said they opposed the dissolution and urged that GE15 be only held next year owing to the impending north-east monsoon and slow economic recovery.