Stand taken by 31 BN MPs a no-confidence vote against Zahid, says analyst

A political analyst says today’s show of 31 MPs from Barisan Nasional (BN) who openly stated their decision to continue working with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration is a form of no-confidence vote against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi himself.

Ilham Center analyst Hisommudin Bakar said this was clear from the press conference held by the group this afternoon.

“This is a form of open defiance, shown unilaterally by BN MPs without discussion with Zahid,” he said when contacted by MalaysiaNow.

“They are using the argument that they contended the election on a BN, not Umno, ticket.”

To prevent the party’s internal issues from continuing, he said, Zahid as Umno president and BN chairman should hold immediate discussions with every MP from the BN component, not just those from Umno.

He said this would be necessary to reach a unanimous decision and prevent the development of cracks within the coalition.

Kamarul Zaman Yusoff, a Malay politics observer, agreed that Zahid had a problem on his hands.

“When the majority of MPs agree, it could mean that the bulk of them no longer have confidence in him,” he said.

He said Zahid is currently in no danger of being removed as the majority of Supreme Council members are still behind him.

“But in the context of BN, it is different when all of the component parties are against him.”

The 31 MPs today voiced their continued support for the PN government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

They also agreed that the legitimacy of the government and prime minister should be determined at the Dewan Rakyat sitting next month.

Twenty-one MPs from Umno and BN were present at the press conference led by Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Another 10, including ministers Dr Adham Baba, Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin and Reezal Merican Naina Merican did not attend but voiced their agreement with the others.

Ismail said their stand was in line with the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who had consented to a confidence vote in the Dewan Rakyat next month.