Umno, BN MPs pledge not to support any no-confidence vote

Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs today said they support the royal call for Parliament to reconvene, while giving their word that they will not back any no-confidence motion to bring down the current government.

A statement issued by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob said any proceeding in the Dewan Rakyat should focus on battling the Covid-19 pandemic and discussing issues affecting the people.

“As such, in order to uphold His Majesty’s order for the political temperature to be lowered, we will not to support any no-confidence motion if one is submitted,” the statement said.

It added that Umno and BN MPs, who currently number 41 in the Dewan Rakyat, would also support Putrajaya’s National Recovery Plan announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last week.

In the statement, Ismail who as senior minister has been the face of the government’s war against Covid-19, said ministers and deputies from Umno and BN were fully committed to executing their duties “especially in portfolios directly related to containing the spread of Covid-19, the vaccination rollout and the economic recovery of the people and nation”.

The statement adds to a series of responses from political party chiefs expressing support for two statements issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers, following a special meeting at Istana Negara last week.

Among others, the rulers called for parliamentary proceedings, suspended since the virus state of emergency was declared in January, to be reconvened as soon as possible.

They also warned of rising political temperatures.

“What is important is a stable government that has the confidence and support of the majority of the people,” the statement had said.

Muhyiddin, when laying out the National Recovery Plan, had indicated that parliament would reconvene sometime in September or October subject to several conditions, chiefly the rate of vaccination and an easing of pressure on the public health system.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former leader Najib Razak have been among the more vocal voices against the Perikatan Nasional government, in what many see as representing a group of former ruling politicians who are under pressure over scores of criminal charges awaiting trial in the coming months.