Padang Rengas MP Nazri Abdul Aziz said the list of 25 BN lawmakers against coalition chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be revealed by their spokesperson Hishammuddin Hussein when it is necessary to do so.
Until then, Nazri said he will speak on behalf of the group.
“I am their representative. There is no need for them to come out because we don’t want to confuse the situation.
“The declaration is with Hishammuddin, when it matters, he will show the list,” he told Malaysiakini.
The declaration, as Nazri related it, supports Hishammuddin to represent the signatories in talks with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
This was reportedly done when the king was meeting with political leaders earlier this month as the signatories did not trust Zahid – whom they believe is trying to align Umno with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
The Padang Rengas MP has repeated multiple times that the declaration is not meant to back Hishammuddin as prime minister or deputy prime minister.
Meanwhile, Nazri also hit back at Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman – after the latter said he pitied the former and questioned why the 24 other MPs are keeping silent.
“Tajuddin is not one of the 25… He says he pities me, but I pity him because we don’t want him,” he said.
He added that the group did not want Tajuddin among them as he was “very controversial” and would be a liability.
On a related matter, Nazri claimed that five other MPs have signed a separate declaration to uphold the Umno general assembly’s decision not to align with Anwar and the DAP, and to sever ties with Perikatan Nasional once the 15th general election comes around.
This, he said, meant that they too did not support Zahid.
“Because Zahid wants to be with Anwar and DAP,” he said.
In October last year, Zahid allegedly signed a letter to the king, pledging support for Anwar.
Zahid’s office claimed the letter was fake, but Nazri and other detractors claim otherwise.
Meanwhile, Nazri claimed he was “only joking” that he was going abroad on holiday for two months.
Instead, he said he was registering his son for school, and that he followed protocol.
“I’m going to register my son for school, it’s not a holiday… After registering him, I’ll come back.
“I only jokingly told (The Star) that it was a holiday,” he said when contacted.
Nazri’s son is five years old.
He declined to go into detail about which country he was headed to or what type of school his son was enrolling in.
“Let’s not drag children into this, what’s important is that it’s all according to the procedure,” Nazri said.
Yesterday, Nazri was cited by The Star as saying that he would be leaving the country for two months and will only be back two weeks before Parliament reconvenes in order to quarantine.
“Just to relax and after that, I will be back,” he was quoted as saying.
The Padang Rengas MP told Malaysiakini that he had all the necessary paperwork to leave the country.
“I applied to go out of the country from the government, and it was approved.
“I also received a visa from the country I’m headed to,” he said.
According to current guidelines set out by the Immigration Department, leaving the country during the movement control order for travel and holidays is not allowed.
However, leaving the country for educational purposes, as well as business reasons are allowed. – Malaysiakini