KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is being used as bait by certain quarters to call for an early general election, Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa said today.

The Ketereh MP said the PKR president’s claim of having a majority support of MPs to form the government was merely a ruse in the name of politics.

"I believe [Anwar] has been made into bait to hasten the general election. Nothing more than that. That’s what we call politics,” he posted on Twitter.

"However who’s doing the fishing and whose being fished is not known. Umno and Muafakat Nasional (MN) have a clear and definite standing, no Anwar no DAP. 

"Whoever wants to follow them, are welcome. Those who want to follow MN are welcome,” he added.

Annuar’s comment came following Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s earlier statement saying that many Umno and BN MPs are supportive of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, and that the party would not stop them from supporting him.

Following Zahid’s statement, Perikatan Nasional had issued its own statement, signed among others by Annuar, saying that it continues to support Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.

Earlier this week, Anwar had claimed that he has the support of the majority of Dewan Rakyat to form a government and announced that he would be holding an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong soon.