KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 — Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has urged the government to drop the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakatan Harapan (PH) following its failure to approve a motion under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in Parliament yesterday.
Mohamad told Free Malaysia Today (FMT), that any cooperation between the government and the Opposition must end before the expiry date of the MoU in July.
He also once again reiterated calls for the 15th general election (GE15).
“A government that is formed and depends on an MoU like this is very risky, all the more when PH is untrustworthy and has made it a norm to break its promises.
“The parliament sitting yesterday proved that PH would not hesitate to break its stand and promise. I believe that this is a huge slap on the face for the government,” he was quoted as saying.
Mohamad also criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for being lackadaisical and not strategic in tabling the motion on Sosma yesterday.
Yesterday, the motion to extend the enforcement of sub-section 4(5) of Sosma for another five years was rejected after a bloc vote saw 86 MPs voting against and 84 in favour. The other 50 MPs were absent.
Umno minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said PH has violated Article 3.3 (b) of the MoU, which he claimed requires the Opposition to support any motion brought forward by the government.
However, Article 9.1 of MoU also states that the Opposition is not barred from fulfilling its check-and-balance role.
Meanwhile, newly appointed DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke disagreed with Annuar’s assessment of the situation.
In a Facebook post, he said that voting against the Sosma extension for another five years will have no bearing on the MoU.
