GE15 most likely raised in meeting involving Umno ministers

SHAH ALAM - Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz did not rule out the possibility of the 15th general election (GE15) being discussed in the meeting involving several Umno ministers in Putrajaya yesterday (March 25).

However, the former Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general assured that such discussions will not be able to impact the government’s decision on holding GE15 earlier than planned.

He said all the final decisions on the date to hold GE15 was something that needs to be discussed by the top leaders of Umno namely party president, deputy president, and the three vice presidents.

Rumors that GE15 would be held much earlier became more aggressive when the government had failed to approve a motion to amend the extension period of subsection 4(5) of the Security Offenses Act (Special Measures) 2012 (Sosma) in Parliament on Wednesday (March 23).

“Yes, they (Umno ministers) may have been discussing GE15. However, the meeting will not have any impact as the date must be discussed by Umno’s “top five”.

“As I explained in debate in Parliament on Wednesday, when the government failed to approve the Sosma motion, it had also lost its moral foundation to govern the country.

“According to the democratic practices of countries like Britain, if the government loses any presentation motion and Rang Law (RUU), the right path is to get back the support of the voters.

“The government's defeat proved that the opposition is disrespectful of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Transformation and Political Stability,” he told Sinar Premium yesterday.

This was in reference to a meeting supposedly held between Umno leaders in a hotel in Putrajaya yesterday morning.

It was reported that there was a movement of dignitaries and vehicles escorting several Umno ministers as early as 8am.

Among those present at the meeting were the Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican and Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Saddiq.

There was no sign of Senior Minister (Defense) Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein, Science and Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahadzir Khalid.

It is understood that the meeting went on for an hour before they left the hotel at 9.50 am.

When asked, Annuar denied that a meeting took place, insisting that they were just having breakfast together.

Since Thursday, several Umno leaders seemed to have constructed a narrative that political instability was the reason for the government’s recent defeat in Parliament.

Some Umno leaders had even openly claimed that the MoU signed between the government and Pakatan Harapan (PH) is void due to the failure of the government to pass the Sosma motion.