Ismail Sabri I Don T Blame Pn Ministers They Followed Orders

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In a turn of events, caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob now says he does not blame the 12 Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers in his cabinet.
He previously blamed the dissolution of Parliament on them after it was revealed they sent a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to object to the 15th general election (GE15) being held this year.
He said then that Parliament was dissolved to “prevent disharmony in the administration”.
Speaking to reporters today, Ismail Sabri said he understands the ministers were only acting on party orders, as well as instructions from PN chairperson and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.
“They (PN) are also in the government coalition… But they attack the government all of a sudden.
“(Bersatu secretary-general) Hamzah (Zainudin) said they had no choice but to follow party decisions.
“There is influence from the party president and cabinet ministers from Bersatu can’t disassociate themselves from it. This means they were receiving orders from the party president.
“If the party president asked them to write the letter, they would write it although it’s not wise to do so,” Ismail Sabri said after the launch of the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash) today.
The incumbent Bera MP’s comments come just two days after he pointed fingers at PN ministers who penned a letter to the Agong to voice their concern about flood risks.
He said the action undermined the prime minister and the solidarity among members of the federal administration.
Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah ZainudinIf it is PN’s motive to continue disrupting the stability of the government, he said, it will be impossible for the administration to continue with economic recovery and its people-centric agenda.
“That is why I return the mandate to the people, for them to make a choice and for us to form a new government that is stable after GE15,” said Ismail Sabri.
Opposition should be thankful
On claims that Parliament’s early dissolution is to save the “court cluster” in Umno and BN from facing the law, Ismail Sabri said the opposition should be thankful.
“What I’m doing now is bringing the elections forward and allowing the people to choose the government they truly want.
“If they (opposition) questioned the legitimacy of the current government, they should be happy now that I have announced the dissolution of Parliament.
“Therefore, Azmin (Ali) and Lim Kit Siang’s accusations are baseless.”
Yesterday, Bersatu supreme council member Azmin said it is a known secret that Parliament was dissolved upon Umno’s insistence and the real reason behind the instability in today’s government is clashes between the “kleptocrats” and Ismail Sabri’s faction.
Bersatu supreme council member Azmin AliIn a statement, incumbent Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang described Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s recent speech that BN leaders could face criminal trials if their coalition loses the next general election as a “brutally frank” admission that the party leadership wanted an immediate election to save the “court cluster”.
“After Zahid’s brutally frank speech at the MIC congress, there is no need for any other BN manifesto for the next election but only one - ‘Free Umno and BN court clusters from being charged in court and sent to jail’,” Lim said.
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri today once again refuted claims that there was internal pressure from Umno on him to call for early polls.
“If there was, I would have called it a long time ago. After the Johor state election as well as during every (Umno) assembly, there were calls for dissolution.
“Umno has spoken about dissolution for a long time, just waiting for the right time.
“I had not planned for the right date, but seeing recent developments, I didn’t think we (the current government) could go on anymore. That’s why I announced the dissolution.” - Mkini

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