Meeting Involving Umno And Bersatu Leaders Taking Place

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A meeting between several leaders from Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is is on-going at a hotel in the city. -NSTP/HAIRUL ANUAR RAHIMKUALA LUMPUR: A meeting between several leaders from Umno and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is on-going at a hotel in the city.
A senior aide to a minister told Berita Harian that the meeting, amongst others, was to look into the possibility of Umno and several parties under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) rekindling their ties.
The meeting was also intended for the parties to work together again in order to form the next federal government after it was confirmed that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin wanted to resign.
The senior aide said the matter is among several agendas being discussed during the meeting. The attendees included several members of parliament from Umno.
"However let us wait until tomorrow after the Prime Minister confirms with his decision (to resign from his post).
"This is just a political meeting to deliberate and look for the necessary step in moving forward," said the senior aide, who refused to share the identities of the leaders who attended the meeting.
It was, however, learnt that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is also the Umno vice-president, and Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, who is the Bersatu secretary-general, were among MPs attending the meeting.
Asked if the meeting will also be discussing the next Prime Minister candidate, the senior aide said the matter was among several agendas of the meeting.
"It was discussed. However, this is just proposal (of a candidate) to be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah)," the senior aide said, while urging all parties to wait for announcement on tomorrow's development.
The senior aide added that the Prime Minister's candidate to be proposed to the king must have the ability to obtain majority support among MPs from Barisan Nasional (BN) and component parties in PN, if the BN-PN ties wanted to be maintained moving forward.
It was previously reported that Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the party's has retracted its support for Muhyiddin and the PN government.
The announcement by Zahid, however, did not sit well among some MPs in Umno who wanted the Umno-PN cooperation to remain for at least until Parliament is dissolve paving the way for the next general election.
It was also learnt that officers at the offices of ministers and deputy ministers in Putrajaya have started emptying their rooms since yesterday following reports that Muhyiddin wanted to handover his resignation letter to the king tomorrow.
Earlier today, Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, chaired the party's supreme council meeting at the PN headquarters in Publika.
During the meeting, Muhyiddin, who is Pagoh MP, had announced his intention to submit his resignation letter as the prime minister to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong tomorrow. - NST

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