MELAKA: Barisan Nasional’s decision to take a different path in state elections does not mean it has withdrawn support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said there was no need for any Barisan minister to resign from the unity government’s Cabinet, stressing that political differences at state level, including in Melaka, did not affect the coalition’s support for the federal leadership.
He was responding to Gobind Singh’s challenge for him to resign if he no longer had confidence in the government, instead of calling for an early dissolution of Parliament.
"If he (Gobind) feels that what he has proposed should be done, then he should do what his party’s (DAP) secretary-general (Anthony Loke) did,” he told reporters after a meeting with Melaka Village Development and Security Committee members here on Thursday (Nov 12).
Ahmad Zahid also took a swipe at his critics, using the Bahasa Malaysia expression “gila talak” to describe someone who leaves but subsequently yearns to return.
The Barisan chairman said every party in the unity government had the right to determine its own political direction, particularly when contesting state elections.
He said Barisan ministers had consistently supported the unity government’s policies in Cabinet and had never opposed Anwar over those policies.
"There is no question of us not supporting Datuk Seri Anwar’s leadership at the federal level.
“This is clear because, during Cabinet meetings, there has never been an occasion when Barisan ministers disagreed with the unity government’s policies or differed with the Prime Minister.
“All the ministers can attest to this,” he said.
On Nov 10, Loke announced his resignation as Transport Minister with immediate effect.
In a statement, he said the move followed the High Court’s decision allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
