PM denies Parliament dissolved due to pressure from Umno
Ismail Sabri Yaakob says if he had been pressured, he would have dissolved Parliament at an earlier point.
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Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today denied that the dissolution of Parliament was due to pressure from Umno.
While admitting that Umno had been pushing for the dissolution of Parliament ever since Barisan Nasional (BN) won big in the Johor election in March, Ismail said he never felt pressured.
"If I was pressured, I might have dissolved Parliament sooner. Everybody was talking about it after the Johor election, even at every party meeting... it’s just that it was not the right time and I personally didn’t have any reason to find the right time.
"But there was an issue that made it impossible for me to go on, that’s why I dissolved it," he told reporters in Shah Alam.
Ismail said it was difficult for him to continue leading the government when his Cabinet ministers could not see eye to eye, especially after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, whose party was part of the government, said that the government had failed to manage the country well.
"How can I manage the country well if I am not confident in the spirit of solidarity among my Cabinet ministers?" he said.
As such, and to ensure stability and economic recovery post Covid-19, as well to achieve a bigger agenda for the country, Ismail said the mandate had to be returned to the people to elect a new, stable government through the 15th general election.
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