More Umno MPs may withdraw support, says Nazri

(FMT) – More Umno MPs are expected to withdraw their support from Muhyiddin Yassin’s government, a senior Umno MP said today.

Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz said more Umno members may follow in the footsteps of Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub who announced today that he would no longer support Muhyiddin as prime minister.

Nazri told FMT: “We wait and see. More (Umno) MPs (may) withdraw their support. We wait and see.” He added: “Then Muhyiddin will have to meet the King”, a reference to the constitutional requirement that a prime minister who loses majority support in the Dewan Rakyat must submit the resignation of his Cabinet.

However, Nazri would not confirm how many Umno MPs can be expected to withdraw support from Muhyiddin, who has come under pressure from Umno in recent weeks, with some divisional leaders calling for moves to bring down his government.

Asked if he would be one of them, he replied: “I don’t know yet.”

He said the withdrawal of Ahmad Jazlan’s support leaves Muhyiddin with 111 MPs for him, against the 109 MPs lined up with the opposition Pakatan Harapan and its allies. The number includes Ahmad Jazlan.

The Perikatan Nasional government requires 112 votes for a simple majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat. The deaths of two MPs has left their seats vacant.

Ahmad is the second Umno politician to have announced withdrawal of support for Muhyiddin, after Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, MP for Gua Musang, said he would support the federal budget last month. The budget was approved by a narrow margin.