THE 31 Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs standing by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin are doing so as individual lawmakers and have not broken ranks with their parties, Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

“The issue is not our breaking ranks; the issue now is our stand as MPs,” said the Umno vice-president at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

“We abide by this stand and wait for September,” the deputy prime minister said, referring to the vote of confidence to test Muhyiddin’s majority that will take place when Parliament convenes next month.

The Bera MP also said that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had agreed that Parliament convene and a confidence vote be taken in September to determine whether the current government commands the majority of the Dewan Rakyat.

“It clearly shows that the palace is no longer receiving statutory declarations or letters (on whether MPs support Muhyiddin),” he added.

Ismail earlier announced names of 31 BN lawmakers who have rejected Umno’s order to immediately withdraw support for Muhyiddin and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced on Thursday that a sufficient number of the party’s MPs had retracted their support for Muhyiddin for the government to collapse. 

However, he did not specify how many.

Ismail, who was appointed by Muhyiddin to be his number two last month, said the Umno leadership should have first brought the matter to the Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council for discussion.

“This is because in Parliament, we are under BN, we are BN parliamentarians,” he said of the coalition that includes Umno, MIC, MCA and PBRS.

With him today were MCA president Wee Ka Siong and MIC president M. Saravanan, both of whom have pledged support for Muhyiddin and the PN government. 

PBRS deputy president and Pensiangan MP Arthur Joseph Kurup is among the names read out by Ismail earlier.

On whether the group of MPs will call for the Umno president’s resignation and whether Umno is split, Ismail said: “I don’t want to add to the confusion. What’s important today is (to make clear) our stand. Issues concerning the party, leave those for another time.”

He said Zahid should have called all BN MPs to explain the Umno leadership’s decision instead of announcing it immediately after the supreme council’s meeting last Thursday.

“We urge the president to meet us to explain. He cannot just issue a directive without meeting us and explaining the matter,” Ismail said.

Ismail was also non-committal about a letter by Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan to Umno MPs asking them to state their stand for or against Muhyiddin and PN.

“The letter is unlawful. We’ll discuss whether we should reply to it or not,” he added.

BN has 42 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, which comprises of 38 from Umno, two from MCA, and one each from MIC and PBRS.

As of today, 31 BN MPs have stated their support for Muhyiddin and PN. 

Another eight have signed letters to express their stand against Muhyiddin, as confirmed by the prime minister himself. 

Meanwhile, the position of the remainder three BN MPs are still unclear.

Ismail Sabri said today he would continue contacting those who have not made a stand. – August 6, 2021.