Thirty Umno lawmakers and some independent MPs have pledged to support Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister, said Khalid Samad
The Amanah communications director said Anwar did not provide a name list to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on Tuesday, but just handed over supporting letters by the heads of parties to prove that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has lost the majority.
“From my understanding, Anwar brought letters from party leaders stating that their MPs support him.
“For Amanah, the letter was signed by Mohamad Sabu as president, with 11 MPs, DAP was signed by Lim Guan Eng with 42 MPs, letter from PKR may be Anwar himself who signed, 39 MPs support,” Khalid said in an interview with Jom Channel yesterday evening.
“And from my understanding, Umno president Zahid Hamidi had also given a letter stating support from 30 MPs – if I am not mistaken – in support of Anwar,” Khalid added.
The Shah Alam lawmaker said some independent MPs also supported Anwar, but he did not name them.
There are seven independent MPs in the Dewan Rakyat – six former Bersatu members who have joined the yet-to-be-registered Pejuang (5) and Muda (1). The other independent is a Perikatan Nasional friendly MP from Sarawak.
“In the press conference, Anwar did not say (he had) statutory declarations (SD) from all MPs, but there were some independent MPs who gave SD,” Khalid.
The former federal territories minister said Muhyiddin has lost power principally but still refuses to resign.
“When Muhyiddin did not resign, this issue continues to be disputed and various speculations arise.
“When Anwar appeared before the Agong, Muhyiddin still made an address despite his majority being questioned.
“Zahid himself confirmed there were MPs supporting Anwar, he (Muhyiddin) should already know,” Khalid said.
It was also right for Anwar not to release the names on the list as there may be those who back out at the last minute or be bought over, Khalid added.
On Tuesday, Anwar met the Agong at Istana Negara to present proof that the majority of MPs supported him.
Shortly after the meeting, Istana Negara said Anwar only states the number of MPs who supported him but did not submit a list of names.
The palace said the king had advised Anwar to follow constitutional processes.
Mohamad Sabu, Lim Guan Eng and Zahid Hamid were scheduled to appear before the Agong, but the audiences were postponed to an unspecified date. – TMI