THE question of who will become deputy prime minister should Barisan Nasional (BN) win the general election has not been discussed, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said last night in Sungai Buloh.

“It has not been discussed… candidates from Umno, Sabah and Sarawak will be decided when we win,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ismail, an Umno vice-president, appealed to the Sungai Buloh electorate to vote for Khairy.

Khairy is in a seven-horse race, with his main contender being Ramanan Ramakrishnan from Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Khairy said he will accept any cabinet position should BN win.

“I have a good relationship with the prime minister, so I will always support him in the cabinet in whatever capacity,” he said.

Later in Puncak Alam, the prime minister said he will ensure a smaller cabinet by combining several ministries.

“But we have to win first… I will take into account all interests, there must be technocrats, there must be politicians.

“The current cabinet is too big. This is my promise but I will decide who are the ministers,” he said.

On Perikatan Nasional’s claims that BN had copied its manifesto promise to provide citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian mothers, Ismail said BN could say the same thing about PN. 

Ismail also said that he was confident that Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz could win the Kuala Selangor seat.

“I’m surprised by the response and I believe what I see tonight will be translated into votes for Tengku Zafrul.

“I believe those who came tonight are showing their support to Tengku Zafrul and I’m confident he can win in Kuala Selangor. 

“If Tengku Zafrul wins, he will be in the cabinet. Kuala Selangor is fortunate to have such a great candidate, I hope we can all make Tengku Zafrul the Kuala Selangor MP,” he said. – Bernama, November 15, 2022.