PM Ismail Sabri denies Parliament dissolution 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 state election in March, he said he did not feel pressured.

"If I was pressured, I may have dissolved the 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 dissolve it," he told reporters after launching the opening of the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Highway (DASH) here today.

Elaborating, Ismail Sabri said it was difficult for him to continue leading the government when his Cabinet ministers cannot see eye to eye, especially after Bersatu president Tan Sri 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 was not confident with the spirit of solidarity among my Cabinet ministers?" he said.

As such, and to ensure stability and economic recovery post-COVID-19, as well achieving bigger agenda for the country, Ismail Sabri said the mandate had to be returned to the people to elect a new, stable government through the 15th General Election.