KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — The promotion of Umno ministers Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today is believed to be deliberately done prior to a decisive Umno Supreme Council meeting tonight, sources have said.
Several sources close to Umno top leaders accused the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government of appointing Ismail as deputy prime minister and Hishammuddin as a senior minister to influence Umno against leaving the coalition’s government.
“Majority of the Supreme Council members have agreed with president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to leave PN,” said an anonymous source, referring to the Umno president.
“There is another group who supported the PN are doing this on purpose.”
Meanwhile another source who is himself in the Supreme Council echoed the sentiment, saying there are groups of “Umno MPs” behind the decision to appoint the duo.
“The Umno MPs are trying to preempt the council’s decision, but the call to quit PN is practically decided,” said the source who did not want to be identified.
Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reported another Supreme Council member Datuk Ahmad Puad Zarkashi as saying Ismail and Hishamuddin should have rejected the post in order to toe the party’s decision.
“Why was this appointment not discussed with the Umno leadership? The Supreme Council has decided in Janda Baik that Umno put a ‘full stop’ on the deputy PM issue.
“Supposedly, Ismail Sabri must obey or consult the party first because this is the decision of the council,” he said as quoted by the portal.
Hishammuddin and Ismail Sabri have since thanked Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for their appointments, with the latter signing a statement this evening as a deputy prime minister.
Meanwhile, political analyst Oh Ei Sun suggested that if the Supreme Council still decides to leave PN, then the duo should leave the party if they wish to keep their new posts.
“Will it come down to the supreme council going against Zahid, or Ismail and Hishammuddin forced to choose sides, which means they would have to quit Umno should they choose to accept the posts,” the principal adviser for Pacific Research Center Malaysia told Malay Mail.
Malay Mail is seeking additional comments from Zahid, Ismail Sabri, Hishammuddin, and other Umno Supreme Council members over the matter.
In a statement today, the Prime Minister’s Office said that the appointments have been presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and take effect immediately.
Both Ismail Sabri and Hishammuddin will still retain their initial portfolios as defence and foreign affairs minister respectively.
On Monday, Zahid attended a discreet meeting hosted by Ismail at Wisma Perwira at the Ministry of Defence.
This followed another meeting earlier that day where sources told Malay Mail that Zahid and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met with several Umno Supreme Council members to gain support to pull out of PN but the proposal was rejected by those who attended the meet.
