Ismail Sabri: Collective decision vital to work with other coalitions

PETALING JAYA: Any decision for Barisan Nasional to collaborate with other parties after polling on Saturday must be made collectively, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The caretaker Prime Minister said the hyped cooperation with Pakatan Harapan could not be decided by one person.

He said the same process also applied if there were plans to appoint another leader besides him as Barisan’s candidate for prime minister after GE15.

He also dismissed the possibility of a new political alignment between Barisan and Pakatan.

Ismail Sabri said that at last year’s Umno general assembly – the party’s highest authority – it had been determined there would be no cooperation with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or with DAP.

The same decision was made by the party’s supreme council in 2020.

“I believe no one in Umno’s leadership can reverse the decision and change it unilaterally, without it being brought before the supreme council and calling for an extraordinary general meeting.

“As long as the decision has not been reversed, then the no Anwar, no DAP decision remains,” he said in an interview aired over major television stations last night.

Ismail Sabri, who is Umno vice-president, was asked about claims of a possible cooperation between Pakatan and Umno after GE15. He said if Barisan were to win, the coalition would invite Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah to form the Federal Government.

“We must have representation from Sabah and Sarawak in the government, even if we have 120 seats in the peninsula. We must include them because their voices are important,” he added.

On allegation that one vote for Barisan was a vote for its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to become prime minister, Ismail Sabri said the matter had been explained numerous times.

He said the allegation was a perception played up by the Opposition.

He added that even Ahmad Zahid himself had cleared the air on the matter and Barisan component party leaders had reaffirmed that he (Ismail Sabri) was the coalition’s choice for prime minister if it were to form the government after GE15.

“There are groups that are trying to pit me against the party president when it should not be an issue.

“The decision to name me as Barisan’s prime minister candidate was made by the supreme council as well as the party general assembly. For as long as the decision is not reversed, then it remains as it is.”

On another matter, the Prime Minister admitted to being disappointed that several ministers were dropped from Umno’s candidate list.

“I am sad and disappointed because even the winnable ones were dropped. Those are my personal feelings but as a party man, we must continue to lead the party towards election victory.

“I spoke to them (who were dropped), convinced them that Umno still needed their help. Thankfully, we are on the same page and these leaders have been helping our candidates,” he said.

Tan Sri Annuar Musa, the incumbent for the Ketereh parliamentary seat, was among Cabinet ministers who were dropped, alongside Tan Sri Noh Omar (Tanjung Karang), Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique (Kota Tinggi) and Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara).

On allegation of graft in the party, he said, such cases involved certain individuals and labelling Umno as corrupt was wrong.

“The party cannot be dragged into such cases. I have mentioned many times that the government does not interfere with court cases and neither will it be involved in investigations carried out by agencies such as the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) and police,” he said.