PN more cracked if UMNO Cabinet dropped - Dr Mazlan

KUALA LUMPUR: Any removal of UMNO representatives from the Cabinet, if any, will cause a bigger rift to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Political analyst from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Dr Mazlan Ali, said this government will otherwise continue to remain until the Dewan Rakyat is dissolved or as long as it enjoys majority support of members of Parliament (MPs).

"I saw yesterday UMNO stating that it did not want to cooperate but would remain in the PN government, signalling that they will not cooperate only in GE15.

“But for as long as this government lasts until Parliament is dissolved, UMNO gave an assurance that they will be with Bersatu in this PN government.

"Of course, I feel this government will remain until the dissolution period, however it also depends on the response from the PN itself," he said during a video conference on Friday.

On Thursday, UMNO secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the party's Supreme Working Council (MKT) confirmed that it would not hold any cooperation with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) during the 15th General Election (GE15).

In a statement, Ahmad said the decision was reached at the MKT meeting in Janda Baik, last February 19, as reported by several media.

In the meantime, said Dr Mazlan, the announcement by Perlis UMNO Chairman, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, that it will continue to cooperate with Bersatu described that the MKT decision did not get the support of party members.

He said, it was a different reaction and proved that UMNO is a party that is now fragmented.