UMNO, which caused the collapse of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, is now working with the pact again to ensure that a leader of the party is chosen as the prime minister, human rights lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan said today.

In a post on Twitter, Ambiga said Umno is not concerned about the welfare of the people but rather on staying in power. 

“Who caused the PN to fall by withdrawing support?” she tweeted.

“Who then pontificated about parliamentary democracy ad nauseam? 

“Who now works with that same PN but with their boy at the top? Starts with U and ends with O. It was never about us.” 

The Muhyiddin Yassin-led PN collapsed after 17 months in power following the former prime minister’s loss of his majority due to 15 Umno MPs withdrawing their support for him. 

His offer to form a bipartisan government with opposition lawmakers, too, was swiftly rejected. 

This left him with no choice but to tender his resignation on Monday. 

Since then, the race has been on to determine the next prime minister, the third since the 2018 general election. 

Although it had withdrawn its support for the previous government, Umno has continued to work with PN.  

Umno, along with PN, Sarawak ruling pact Gabungan Parti Sarawak, PAS and independent MPs, has submitted 114 statutory declarations in support of Bera MP Ismail Sabri Yaakob as its prime ministerial candidate. 

This morning, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong summoned all 114 who are backing Ismail to the palace for a one-on-one interview. – August 19, 2021.