PUTRAJAYA: Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says statutory declarations (SDs) are no longer useful for any backdoor change of government after the introduction of the anti-hopping law in 2022.
He said any decision to switch support for the prime minister must be made en bloc.
“It will not happen because the Sarawak premier leading Gabungan Parti Sarawak (Abang Johari Openg) already gave his assurance (that he would continue supporting the unity government),” Zahid said at a press conference here.
He said that Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, on the other hand, was not currently focused on national politics as it was busy dealing with the upcoming Sabah election.
Zahid also urged the opposition to stop plotting to topple the government and wasting the people’s time and attention, saying they could benefit from the initiatives of the current administration.
“We have four years from this year to face the next general election.
“In these four years, let’s rebuild our country together. It was damaged in just one term as three prime ministers were leading the country in that period, but produced no good results for the people during that time,” he said.
Zahid’s remarks followed speculation over the so-called “Dubai Move”, allegedly involving talks between opposition leaders and certain government representatives during a recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The meeting purportedly aimed to divide tasks among “agents” to identify MPs who could switch support to the opposition to form a new government.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed the plot, while Zahid said he was aware of it even before the people involved landed in the UAE.
In response, Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor said he was confident that the current government would not last for five years, and that a new government would be formed this year.
Meanwhile, Zahid also announced that the 2024 Bumiputera economic congress would be held from Feb 29 until March 2.
He also said that his ministry had shut down several of its agencies’ subsidiaries that failed to garner profits.
He said the ministry had offered management buyouts to the companies involved with minimal fees to the companies’ managements.
