BN was never a component member of the PN government.

PETALING JAYA: Former Federal Territories minister Annuar Musa said today he expects newly-appointed prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to unveil a framework for cooperation with opposition parties.

“I think the prime minister certainly wants stability in terms of relations between political parties,” said Annuar, who was a member of the former Perikatan Nasional government.

 “There is a possibility that Ismail will take several steps to create some form of cooperation with the opposition given that he only has the support of 114 (MPs),” he said in an interview with Astro Awani.

He added that Ismail’s more moderate approach would create platforms for various parties to play a role in the government. Cooperation with other parties would enable Ismail’s government to set itself apart from the Muhyiddin Yassin government.

Ismail was sworn in as prime minister today, succeeding Muhyiddin who resigned on Monday.

A coalition, not a PN government

Two other senior Umno members have said that Ismail’s government would be a coalition of parties but not a Perikatan Nasional government, as described by former prime minister Muhyiddin this evening.

Muhyiddin, pledging support for Ismail, had offered to help “the Perikatan Nasional government”.

However, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said that the new government is “not a Perikatan Nasional government” but a “Malaysian government” led by parties from Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Parti Bersatu Sabah.

“It’s a mixed government,” he said in a Facebook post. “PN only had Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and STAR, and not BN, GPS and PBS”.

Umno Supreme Council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that Ismail’s appointment as the country’s ninth prime minister marked the end of the PN government.

He said BN was never a component member of the PN government. He disputed the use of the appellation “PN government” for Muhyiddin’s administration. “The previous government was a coalition of BN, PN, PBS and GPS – not a PN government,” he said in a Facebook post. “I don’t know who labelled the previous government Perikatan Nasional.”

FMT