By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Nov 21: Yang di-Pertuan Agong should interview Members of Parliament (MPs) one by one to determine which prime minister candidate has the support of the majority.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this would be the best way to solve the drama with regards to Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) who are going neck and neck to form the federal government.
He was responding to earlier media reports today where Barisan Nasional’s (BN) president, Dato Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, reminded that BN MPs who sign a document or statutory declaration (SD) to nominate anyone as a candidate for prime minister would be in violation of the party’s ruling.
“The best way, in my personal opinion, for Agong to know who (prime minister candidate) has the support of MPs to lead the government is to call them one by one. If we just ask the MPs to sign the SD, sometimes they are afraid as they might have to sign in front of their party president.
“Just like the appointment of Dato Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister previously, the Agong has interviewed the MPs one by one. From there, we will know who has the support of the MPs, privately,” he told reporters when met after the first day of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here today.
Abdul Karim, who is the Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts and Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, further said that the method might be time-consuming, but it is the best way to determine the prime minister candidate who has the support of the majority.
He said this would avoid any incidences where MPs may have been forced to enter an agreement without their approval.
“Just like several photos which went viral on social media today (regarding a meeting between BN and Pakatan Harapan leaders), there is a Sarawakian MP among them.
“How can he be there? Was he together with BN or coming from somewhere else?
“The meeting this morning was supposed to be between Zahid and PH leader Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but the Sarawakian MP was also there,” he added. — DayakDaily
