JOHOR BARU, Aug 3 — Umno’s Pontian MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan tonight confirmed that he is among the party’s federal lawmakers who signed a declaration to withdraw their support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
In a tweet, the Umno secretary-general said he faced two choices before signing the declaration, but ultimately, the decision was not a difficult one for him to make.
“Choose to abide by the King’s decree to uphold the Constitution and follow Umno’s decision on July 7.
“Or support Muhyiddin and go against the Constitution as well as the party’s wishes.
“Obviously, I picked the first one,” said Ahmad in his tweet that was written in Malay.
Saya membuat keputusan yg tidak sukar bila tandatangani warkah kpd SPB YDP #Agong iaitu
SAMADA
1. Mendaulat titah Tuanku, tegakkan Perlembagaan & ikut keputusan parti #UMNO 7/7/21
ATAU
2. Sokong TS Mahiaddin, tidak ikut Perlembagaan & engkar parti
Tentu saya pilih yg pertama.Advertisement— Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) August 3, 2021
His tweet came shortly after Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed that 10 of the party’s federal lawmakers, including himself, had signed a declaration to withdraw their support for Muhyiddin and the PN government.
Ahmad Zahid said the decision by the party’s supreme council was unanimous and he accused Muhyiddin and his government of defying and belittling the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by failing to abide by his decree that the Emergency Ordinances be tabled for debate in both Houses of Parliament.
The withdrawal of support effectively means Muhyiddin no longer commands the majority in the Lower House.
The PN bloc now has just 104 MPs behind them, eight short of the 112 needed to form a simple majority. There are 107 MPs in the Opposition bench.
