PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Umno is ready to face the 15th general election and has dismissed any allegation of a plot to overthrow Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
"We are ready for GE15. Are you ready to be with us?" Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in a Facebook posting on Wednesday (June 3).
The posting followed a visit by former prime minister Najib Razak to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid's home on Tuesday night.
When contacted, Mr Ahmad Zahid said he and Najib did discuss how Umno would face the general election, but it had nothing to do with overthrowing Tan Sri Muhyiddin.
"A new mandate is extremely needed for Muhyiddin.
"Najib came with his brothers Nizam and Nazim, as they are also like my siblings. That is all," said Mr Ahmad Zahid, brushing off an allegation by the former media adviser to ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad.
Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin had asked in a Facebook posting whether Mr Ahmad Zahid's announcement about his readiness for a general election meant that Umno was trying to engineer one.
Mr Abdul Kadir further questioned whether Umno and Barisan Nasional were ready to bring down the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government headed by Mr Muhyiddin, in an effort to "force the 15th General Election to be held earlier".
Umno and Barisan Nasional are part of the ruling PN government, together with PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and several lawmakers from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) MPs.
Separately, Najib in a Facebook posting on Wednesday said as the country and the world strove to contain Covid-19, Malaysian King Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Ahmad Shah had stated that the political situation and the government needed to be stable.
"He asked not to raise political scandals at a time when the nation is facing its biggest economic and health crises, but Pakatan Harapan still wants to oust the government by buying over PN MPs.
"Even if PH has enough (MPs), that number would be a slim one and PH 2.0 would not be stable enough. One or two jumps and the government will change hands again," he said.
"The King can then use his wisdom and power to dissolve Parliament to solve the country's political instability. At that time, Barisan Nasional will be ready to go down to the ground to battle PH in the general election.
"We support PN until the next general election but if PH creates an issue again, BN would be ready for a general election so that political stability can be revived to ensure a stable government to fight and face the crises," Najib added.
