PETALING JAYA: Kelantan Umno chief Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub, who MP for Machang, has withdrawn his support for prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Jazlan announced his decision at a press conference in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, today.
He is the second Umno politician to have announced withdrawal of support for Muhyiddin, after Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, MP for Gua Musang, did not support the federal budget last month.
Jazlan had resigned as chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board earlier this week.
His decision leaves only 111 MPs supporting the Perikatan Nasional government in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat. Two seats are vacant.
Only 37 Umno MPs continue to back the government.
The government bench now comprises 50 from PN, 41 from Barisan Nasional, 18 from Gabungan Parti Sarawak, PBS (1) and one PN-friendly independent member.
The opposition bloc now has 108 MPs on its side.
Two other seats remain vacant after the MPs died as by-elections have been postponed after an emergency was declared in both the constituencies.
Ahmad had previously said he would resign as MPOB chairman if the PN government does not dissolve Parliament by the end of January.
However, he resigned within hours of making the statement, well before the deadline he had set, and soon after Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz had urged Umno to cut ties with Muhyiddin’s party, PPBM.
Nazri said Umno has to force an election at the “right time” and that this can be done by its MPs withdrawing support for the Muhyiddin government.
Last week, 143 of the 191 Umno divisions rejected cooperation with the PPBM, which is led by many former Umno leaders.
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