
Responding to Mujahid Yusof Rawa’s comments, Puad Zarkashi said only the King had the authority to appoint an interim prime minister while Parliament could elect a new one altogether.
Either way, the decision was not in Umno’s hands, he told FMT.
He maintained that Umno wanted to return to power through the proper democratic process, namely a general election, by returning the mandate to the people.
“After Umno retracted support for the prime minister and urged him to resign, Umno now believes that the Perikatan Nasional-led government has lost its majority support.
“Hence, there is no issue of an ‘acting prime minister’,” he said.
Earlier, Mujahid said Muhyiddin would be pushed to resign “in the next day or two” after Umno withdrew its support for him as prime minister.
Then, he said, Ismail would be the acting prime minister and possibly appointed the interim prime minister, while new senior minister Hishammuddin Hussein would be his deputy.
While noting that Umno had stated it would push for a general election once the nation achieved herd immunity, the Amanah MP said the party would be in a strong position by then and confident of winning handsomely.
“The majority of Umno MPs will continue to support Perikatan Nasional until Parliament is dissolved. The government won’t collapse, but Umno will remain dominant,” the former religious affairs minister predicted.
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram