SHAH ALAM: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has denied he was pressured by Umno to dissolve parliament, saying the party had been consistent in seeking for the august house to be dissolved since this March.
“Umno has been asking for its dissolution for awhile, but the time was not right then. Instead, the opposition has been questioning the validity of this government since former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin was still in office,“ he said.
Ismail Sabri said he had explained earlier that even Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah, had expressed disappointment with the current situation.
“The Agong’s disappointment has given His Majesty no choice but to consent to polls for the sake of national stability,“ he said.
Ismail said if anything, the opposition should thank him for paving the way for the people to choose a new government.
“The longer this government stayed in office, they will keep pressuring and claiming the government is not valid, in fact the ‘Failed Government’ or ‘Kerajaan Gagal’ slogan was promoted by the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president himself.
“There are nine Ministers in the government from his party, and yet they began attacking the government. Everything that is happening today is due to what had transpired, and I foresee the problem will continue if we do not hold elections,“ he said after launching the opening of the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Highway (DASH) here today.
Ismail Sabri said he did not blame the Ministers who wrote to the Agong because they had acted on their party’s instructions.
“If political parties continue to pester the government, it becomes unstable, so how are we suppose to continue governing the country,“ he asked.
He said he could not proceed with the current government without cooperation or solidarity from all Ministers, therefore, he decided to seek the Agong’s consent to dissolve parliament.
