Nazri says will revoke support only if BN tells him to

Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz says he will only retract his support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government if he is directed to do so by Barisan Nasional, as pressure continues on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign.

Speaking to Astro Awani, he confirmed receiving a letter from Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan asking Umno MPs to state their stand on the matter by Aug 7, but said he would not respond.

“I will not answer the letter because I did nothing wrong,” he said, adding that Zahid was the one who should be told to show cause as he had gone against the decision of the Umno general assembly earlier this year.

At the assembly in March, Umno had agreed to remain with the PN government until the 15th general election.

Nazri said it was clear that Zahid had gone against this decision, citing an audio clip of the Umno president speaking with PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim which was leaked shortly after the general assembly.

In the four-minute clip revealed by MalaysiaNow, Anwar was heard congratulating and giving instructions to Zahid, who in turn thanked Anwar for his moral support.

“I have said that Zahid needs to meet with all of the MPs from Umno and explain what he did, but until now he has refused to do so,” Nazri said to Astro Awani.

Nazri, who revoked his support for Muhyiddin in January, said in June that he had been “tricked” by Zahid into doing so.

He told MalaysiaNow that Zahid had orchestrated the move and then failed to retract his support for PN as well.

He redeclared his support for Muhyiddin in early July.

Zahid, who together with former leader Najib Razak have been at the forefront of calls for Muhyiddin to resign, said earlier this week that he had enough statutory declarations from Umno MPs to topple the prime minister.

However, Muhyiddin said after an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that he still commanded the confidence of the majority.

He also said that his position as prime minister would be determined through a vote of confidence at the Dewan Rakyat sitting in September.