Be careful what you ask for, Bersatu info chief tells rivals demanding Muhyiddin name MPs in SDs

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Political rivals challenging Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to name the 114 other MPs who supported him to be prime minister are feigning ignorance in the matter, Bersatu information chief Datuk Rozali Idris claimed today.

He also said Muhyiddin has already identified these MPs to the police when he submitted the statutory declarations they signed during the 15th general election in 2022, for their investigation against him.

“They (the MPs) cannot lie in court. They signed statutory declarations. Much more is likely to be revealed (if they must testify),” he said on Facebook.

“Don’t back a man into a corner. The only option is to fight back.”

Yesterday, Muhyiddin said he gave the police 114 SDs from federal lawmakers backing him to be the PM after GE15 as well as one of his own to affirm their numbers, for a total of 115 documents.

He said the SDs were of lawmakers from PN (74), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (22), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), 10 Barisan Nasional MPs, two independents, and one from Parti KDM.

He did so while being questioned yesterday over a video of him from the Nenggiri by-election campaign, in which he claimed he had the support of 115 MPs after GE15 but was not invited to form the government, before asking the crowd who the Agong was at the time.

As no single party or coalition won the election outright, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah eventually appointed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister after the latter cobbled together a unity coalition of all Malaysian parties outside of PN.

Today, BN chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the 10 SDs from his coalition were invalid as there were counter declarations that existed at the same time.

Zahid said this meant Muhyiddin’s support was only 105 MPs, short of the 112 needed for a simple majority in Parliament.

Separately, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi challenged Muhyiddin to name all the MPs who signed the SDs backing the latter, saying this was the only way to show they were genuine.