Istana Negara – MalayMail photo
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): Several Members of Parliament, when contacted today, said they had submitted their statutory declarations (SD) to Istana Negara to nominate the ninth Prime Minister as requested by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun yesterday.
Lembah Pantai (KL) MP Fahmi Fadzil said his SD was submitted through e-mail this morning while his PKR colleague and Batu MP (KL) P. Prabakaran said he sent his via both email and facsimile at 12.30pm today.
“The selection of the candidate for the prime minister’s post is in line with PKR’s stand which adheres to the PH consensus, which is to nominate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the candidate for Prime Minister,” said Prabakaran when contacted by Bernama today.
Meanwhile, Pasir Puteh (Kelantan) MP Datuk Dr Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh also confirmed that he had submitted his SD to the party leadership for further action.
He said the PAS Ulama Council, which he heads, supports the nomination of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Prime Minister, which was also in line with the party’s central leadership unanimous decision to back the Umno vice-president for the post.
“This also shows that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) leadership is capable of working together in any kind of situation. I am confident Ismail Sabri can demonstrate good leadership based on his prior experience as the Deputy Prime Minister,” he said.
Tumpat (Kelantan) MP, who is also Kelantan PAS secretary, Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi said he, too, had submitted his SD to the party leadership for further action.
Meanwhile, DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the party had already submitted the SDs before the 4 pm deadline but will not reveal details as instructed by Istana Negara.
Yesterday, Azhar issued a notice for all 220 MPs to submit their candidate for Prime Minister to Istana Negara in writing by 4pm today.
The notice is to enable one of them, who commands the confidence of the majority, to be appointed as prime minister following the resignation of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Pagoh MP, on Monday.
According to sources, Ketereh (Kelantan) MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa had submitted his letter via email while Padang Terap (Kedah) MP Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid had done so via WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) MPs have also signed two statutory declarations each supporting Anwar and Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal as candidates for Prime Minister.
Warisan Youth chief Datuk Azis Jamman, who is also the Sepanggar (Sabah) MP, stressed that although they had signed two statutory declarations, Warisan would strive to ensure that Anwar, as the first choice for the post of Prime Minister, had a sufficient majority.
He claimed that they have 105 supporters, including from Warisan, and that Anwar would need the support of six more MPs for a simple majority of 111 seats in Parliament.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) has also submitted its SDs to Istana Negara but GPS chairman Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said he could not reveal the names and number of candidates that had been sent.
“I cannot reveal the names (that had been submitted). I cannot precede the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah),” he said.
Asked if Anwar or PH had contacted him to get his support, Abang Johari said he had not been contacted by Anwar.
The Dewan Rakyat currently has 220 MPs after the deaths of two MPs last year – Datuk Hasbullah Osman (Gerik) in November and Datuk Liew Vui Keong (Batu Sapi) in October.
As such, an MP would require the support of at least 111 lawmakers for a simple majority to enable him to be appointed prime minister. – Bernama