SHAH ALAM: There should be no more issue of a backdoor government now that the general election has been called, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic).
The caretaker Prime Minister said the Opposition had accused his administration of being a backdoor government.
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“They should be thankful to me and glad for what I did to hasten the general election to allow the rakyat to choose the government they truly want,” he told reporters after opening the Damansara-Shah Alam expressway yesterday.
He said if the general election is not called, it will amplify the Opposition’s claims questioning the legitimacy of the government.
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“The issue (of a backdoor government) cannot be raised again because the mandate has now been returned to the rakyat,” he added.Ismail Sabri also said he does not blame the 12 Perikatan Nasional ministers who wrote to the King against the dissolution of Parliament.
Although it was inappropriate, he said they wrote the letter because of a directive from their coalition.
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“I don’t blame them for following party orders,” he added.
He said the 12 were influenced by their party leaders and such pressure would have destabilised the government.
“If the government is not stable, how are we to carry on with the country’s economic recovery and other agendas?” he said.
On Oct 6, it was revealed that 12 Cabinet ministers from Bersatu and PAS sent a letter to the King dated Oct 3 to state that they were against the general election being held this year.
Ismail Sabri said their actions clearly undermined the institution of the Prime Minister.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan had said that the government’s legitimacy had been partly lost because of the letter.
However, this was denied by Perikatan secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
