Back the PM or go, top Sabah Umno leader tells Cabinet members

(Malay Mail Online) – Federal ministers must state their support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his policies that are currently under attack or resign if they are unwilling to do so, said former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.

Citing the principle of collective responsibility, the veteran Umno leader said the ministers could not disavow the decisions made by the prime minister or keep silent amid calls for Najib to resign as they are all members of his Cabinet

“Therefore it is only proper that those Cabinet members who no longer have confidence in the prime minister resign from their posts so that the prime minister is free to appoint new members who share his vision and mission.

“This is the spirit of a Westminster system of government where the Cabinet works with the prime minister or leaves. They cannot remain and at the same time be at odds with the prime minister,” he said in his blog post on Sunday.

Citing the precedents of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s resignation from the Abdullah administration after disagreeing with the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman who quit from Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Cabinet, Salleh said this was the protocol for ministerial dissent.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is pushing openly for Najib’s resignation, saying latter’s refusal to address allegations such as those surrounding 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu put Barisan Nasional’s rule at risk.

The head of BN component parties have unanimously stated their trust in Najib’s leadership, but not all of Umno’s ministers have expressed their support for Najib or disagreement with Dr Mahathir’s call.

Najib last month ordered the Auditor-General and Public Accounts Committee to investigate 1MDB, amid growing demands for explanations over the firm’s allegedly opaque investment decisions and for amassing a reported RM42 billion debt pile.