Ismail Sabri almost certain to be PM

KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob looks certain to be appointed prime minister based on the support of 114 members of Parliament (MPs) declared through statutory declarations (SD).

The SD of the MPs from Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, Parti Gabungan Sarawak and independents were sent via fax, WhatsApp and email to Istana Negara yesterday. All 220 MPs of the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat had sent in their SDs. Two seats are vacant following the deaths of the MPs.

Today, each of the 114 MPs was summoned to an audience before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to personally confirm the legitimacy of their support.

The audience, which was to enable His Majesty to determine if the SDs were done voluntarily, concluded at about 4 pm.

MPs from Parti Gabungan Sarawak (GPS), meanwhile, participated in the audience virtually from a hotel in Kuching.

Each MP took a minute or so to confirm the SD during the audience, which was done in batches from 10 am.

If appointed, Ismail Sabri will be Malaysia's ninth prime minister.

UMNO secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, who is also the Pontian MP, said his invitation for the audience was received via the Dewan Rakyat secretary yesterday.

I was informed that only the group with numbers exceeding the winning margin was invited (to Istana Negara) and from what I've been informed, those who supported the second candidate were not invited for an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"I was also given a list by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker this morning, (and) 114 MPs were invited for an audience," he said in confirming his support for Ismail, who was the deputy prime minister under the Perikatan Nasional government

Jempol MP Datuk Salim Sharif said that during the audience, His Majesty asked all those present to introduce themselves and state the name of the leader they supported.

"The audience lasted about a minute for each member of parliament," he said when contacted by Bernama.

MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, who is also Tapah (Perak) MP, confirmed that the audience was for the King to verify the SDs.

"Tuanku wanted to know who we supported and to verify if the SDs were done voluntarily or otherwise," he said, adding that the group of MPs invited were those who supported Ismail Sabri.

Tanjung Piai (Johor) MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jack Seng also confirmed receiving an invitation to Istana Negara to verify his SD.

Santubong (Sarawak) MP and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said His Majesty did not say when the new prime minister will be appointed.

PAS deputy president and Kubang Kerian MP Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, when contacted, said: "His Majesty did not say anything else. We were granted an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to verify our support through our SDs."

Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs said they had not received any invitation for an audience with the King pertaining to the nomination of an MP for prime minister.

PKR Strategic Communications director and Lembah Pantai (KL) MP Fahmi Fadzil said there had been no invitation for PH MPs from Istana Negara.

Amanah president Mohd Sabu also briefly replied "not yet" via text when asked on the same matter.

Earlier, in a Twitter post, Bangi (Selangor) MP Ong Kian Ming said the Opposition had yet to be invited to Istana Negara.

"Morning guys! In case anyone is wondering, no, my colleagues and I didn't get any calls to go to the palace today... Have a nice day!," he said.

-- BERNAMA