Umno source: Zahid hinted PM will meet Agong on Friday

Umno source: Zahid hinted PM will meet Agong on Friday


Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has purportedly hinted that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will seek the dissolution of Parliament within this week.

An Umno supreme council member who declined to be named said, based on that hint, it is highly likely the prime minister will have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to advise on Parliament’s dissolution this Friday.

The Umno leader also did not reject the possibility that the tabling of Budget 2023 might be postponed.

“Based on a lot of what was given by the Umno president in the meeting, the prime minister may ask for Parliament’s dissolution this Friday.

“And it is not impossible for the tabling of Budget 2023 to be postponed if the Parliament is dissolved.

“From what I understand, the question of dissolving Parliament and the date has been agreed by the ‘top five’ in Umno,” the source told Malaysiakini today.

Yesterday, Umno held a meeting involving the party president, Ismail Sabri and a number of Umno division leaders at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.

The leaders are believed to have discussed the dissolution of Parliament in the meeting.

At a press conference after the meeting, Zahid said Umno respected the prime minister’s authority to propose the date to dissolve Parliament in order to pave the way for the 15th general election.

When asked if Ismail Sabri, who is also Umno vice-president, was given a deadline to advise the Agong on the matter, Zahid jokingly said it should have been done yesterday.

“I said I wanted it to be yesterday,” he quipped at the press conference.

Earlier, Ismail Sabri said having an audience with the Agong is a normal routine for the prime minister.

“Having an audience with the Agong? I have an audience with him every week before the cabinet meeting,” the Bera MP said.

Meanwhile, the source said Zahid also informed them at the meeting yesterday about the cooperation between Umno and PAS heading into GE15, which is currently still in the process of negotiation.

The source said PAS is expected to finalise their stand by this week on whether they would remain with Perikatan Nasional (PN) or continue their cooperation with Umno.

“The issue of working with PAS was also brought up in the meeting, in which the negotiations are still underway at this moment and PAS is expected to decide on whether to work with Umno or not by this week.

“If PAS returns to Umno, a big Muafakat Nasional (MN) gathering will be held in the near future,” the source said.