KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has dismissed Perikatan Nasional (PN) election director Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s claims to have enough support in signed statutory declarations (SDs) to topple the Anwar government.

Asyraf said the last avenue to decide the government is to table a no-confidence motion in Parliament instead of through SDs.

"Even if there are members of Parliament who sign statutory declarations, it means that they are afraid to express their open support.

"Perhaps that is why the Opposition did not dare to propose a motion of no confidence despite the many times the Prime Minister challenged them to do so,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

He urged the Opposition politicians to using such methods to change the government and just wait for the next general election due by 2027.

"It is only a four-year wait till the general election is held to fulfil the Opposition's need to be the government,” he said.

Asyraf stressed that the King has repeatedly refused to entertain politicians who claim to have the numbers in signed SDs to change the government.

He also questioned Sanusi’s claim of SDs, pointing out that other PN leaders have denied their existence.

Asyraf said that the Opposition only had 69 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, adding that it was short by 43 for the required minimum 112 majority to take over the government.

"The GPS, especially the non-Muslim MPs, have stated firmly that they will not support the PN because there is an extreme PAS party in it,” he said, referring to the ruling Gagasan Parti Sabah coalition.

"Barisan Nasional MPs are bound by an RM100 million bond contract that must be paid if they switch support,” he added.

Asyraf also suggested that Sanusi’s remarks could have undermine investor confidence in Malaysia’s political stability and affect its economic recovery.

On January 7, Sanusi claimed that PN had garnered enough statutory declarations to overthrow the government, but did not furnish proof or detail the numbers it supposedly has now.

Sanusi's remarks were prompted by speculation surrounding the so-called "Dubai Move," which refers to purported discussions between Opposition leaders and certain government representatives in the United Arab Emirates.

On January 6, a media statement was widely shared on social media in which PN expressed its gratitude for efforts to save the country and said it had received the blessings of the King.

Allegations of a so-called "Dubai Move” aiming to destabilise Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his federal government coalition surfaced last week after it was highlighted by Community Communications Department deputy director-general Datuk Ismail Yusop.

Ismail implicated PN leaders, including government representatives, in orchestrating the move during their recent holiday in the United Arab Emirates.

Anwar has dismissed all attempts to oust his administration as attempts to distract him from his work.