KUALA LUMPUR (CNA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob denied yesterday that he had been threatened with expulsion from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) if he refused to bow to the party’s demands to call for a general election this year.
Speaking to reporters after an event in Putrajaya, Ismail Sabri said that the atmosphere during the UMNO supreme council meeting last Saturday was mesra (friendly).
Earlier on Saturday, Ismail Sabri had reportedly been the target of jibes and jeers from UMNO grassroots leaders who attended a special briefing organised by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Ismail Sabri, who serves as one of the three UMNO vice-presidents, was not present during the special briefing, which was called by Ahmad Zahid to show support to former prime minister Najib Razak.
Yesterday, Ismail Sabri was asked on the supposed pressure that UMNO leaders have been piling on him to dissolve Parliament soon. He insisted that there was no such thing, adding that the discussion in the supreme council meeting last Saturday was friendly.
“There is no issue. Sometimes, people outside look at things differently whereas the situation inside is different,” he was quoted as saying by the Star.
The prime minister also maintained that there were no internal problems in UMNO. “There is no issue in UMNO; we respect differences of opinion,” he added.
According to Malaysian media reports, UMNO leaders have increased their pressure on Ismail Sabri to call for the general election as soon as possible, with Ahmad Zahid repeating the call during the Saturday UMNO special briefing.
