PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) has called on Umno to explain claims that its MPs have shifted support from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said that if this was indeed true, then Umno, its partner in the Muafakat Nasional pact, had gone against their understanding and agreement signed in a joint charter last year.
"It should be remembered that the Muafakat Nasional joint charter was crafted based on the goals to unite the Muslims in the country, as well as trying to defeat Pakatan Harapan led by PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), DAP (Democratic Action Party) and Parti Amanah Negara.
"As such, if the transition (in support) is real, then it can be considered as a movement intended to overthrow the Perikatan Nasional government, built on the consensus of Barisan Nasional, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and a few other parties following the fall of Pakatan.
"As such, PAS hopes to get a clear explanation from Umno, as its partner in Muafakat Nasional, and invites Umno to re-affirm the desire and commitment that has been agreed upon," said Datuk Takiyuddin in a statement on Friday (Sept 25).
On Wednesday, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said the party would not stop its MPs from backing PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.
Datuk Seri Zahid said he was informed that some Umno and Barisan MPs had expressed their support for Datuk Seri Anwar.
He said he "respects their stand".
The Bagan Datuk lawmaker added that Umno and Barisan were not components of Perikatan, but supported it in Parliament.
He said Perikatan was formed based on the support of individual MPs only.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Anwar claimed he had a "strong and formidable majority" to form the next government.
However, he stopped short of revealing the number of lawmakers supporting him, adding that he would first seek an audience with the King, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin, who has been undergoing treatment at the National Heart Institute since Monday.
