DAP lawmaker says PM should resign as Perikatan govt has collapsed following Umno’s exit

IPOH, July 8 — Perak Opposition leader Abdul Aziz Bari today said that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has already collapsed following Umno’s announcement it was exiting the coalition last night.

The DAP lawmaker said that PN no longer holds the majority in the Parliament and urged Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to step down as prime minister.

“Muhyiddin should step down. He no longer have the support already. 

“Right now it’s the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s duty to call both Muhyiddin and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to get confirmation and decide accordingly,” he told Malay Mail.

Aziz Bari also said that Muhyiddin is now merely a caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed.

Last night, the Umno supreme council meeting concluded with an agreement for the party to withdraw its support for Muhyiddin.  

According to sources, the meeting actually saw the council divided into two camps. 

The majority of the supreme council members who are not part of the Muhyiddin Cabinet chose to side with Zahid and pushed for the withdrawal of support.

Aziz Bari also slammed the idea of appointing Umno veteran politician Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as interim prime minister should such a situation arise.

“We still have 21 months left to complete the five-year term. By right a proper government should be formed. This interim government will not work. You can’t simply appoint a prime minister. Only those who have the majority can be the prime minister,” he said. 

“PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be given a chance to show the support he commands.

“Right now Pakatan Harapan (PH) has a solid 89 MPs backing Anwar. It’s not difficult to get another 22 MPs.

“Who knows, some of the Umno MPs or even PAS and GPS might become Independent and be PH ‘friendly following the current political situation’,” he explained. 

Aziz Bari also said that a general election (GE) should be avoided at any cost now as the country is still struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Right now GE should not be in the context at all. As even having the Parliament session is deemed risky, what more thinking about GE? 

“There is no rush at all for GE. The right way now is to form a proper and solid government so that the Covid-19 pandemic can be solved. 

“And once we are able to overcome it, then we can think about the election when the right time comes,” he said.