Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders who are unhappy with the unity government should leave the Cabinet rather than wait for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to sack them, says Amanah communications director Khalid Samad.
Khalid said BN leaders should show principle and take a clear stand if they no longer accepted Anwar’s leadership.
He said it was inappropriate for them to continue criticising the government while remaining part of the administration.
“They should show some self-respect. If they keep criticising and running down the government, they should leave. No one is stopping them.
“They want to have it both ways – remain in the government, but also criticise it. This is an unprincipled attitude,” he told a press conference after the Federal Territories Amanah convention here today.
He was commenting on criticism by some BN leaders of Anwar’s leadership and administration.
On Sept 12, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi challenged the party’s critics to kick Umno and BN out of the unity government.
Speaking at the Umno general assembly, Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, dared his critics to table a motion of no confidence against Anwar in the Dewan Rakyat.
BN has eight ministers in the Cabinet, including Zahid, who holds the rural and regional development portfolio, and BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan, who is foreign affairs minister.
Umno vice-presidents Johari Ghani and Khaled Nordin are the investment, trade and industry minister and defence minister respectively.
The other BN ministers are secretary-general Zambry Abd Kadir (higher education), Azalina Othman Said (law and institutional reform), Arthur Joseph Kurup (natural resources and environmental sustainability) and Noraini Ahmad (plantation and commodities).
Amanah eyes three parliamentary seats in GE16
Khalid, who is also Federal Territories Amanah chairman, said the party was targeting several parliamentary seats not held by Pakatan Harapan (PH) to contest in the 16th general election (GE16).
These include Putrajaya, Titiwangsa and Labuan.
“If they are offered to us, we are certainly willing to contest,” he said.
However, he said discussions on seat allocations for GE16 were still premature as the party was currently focused on the Melaka state election.
Current seat holders
The Titiwangsa parliamentary seat is held by BN’s Johari, while Putrajaya is represented by Bersatu’s Radzi Jidin.
Labuan is held by Suhaili Rahman, who won the seat under a Perikatan Nasional ticket in GE15 but is now an independent MP after being expelled from Bersatu in 2023 for expressing support for the unity government.
Amanah won eight parliamentary seats in GE15, comprising five in Selangor, two in Johor and one in Melaka.
