Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to sack ministers who are not aligned with him, claiming that they could sabotage government policies.
The former prime minister said Anwar should consider a Cabinet reshuffle amid public disagreements between him and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders.
“If I were the prime minister, I would have sacked them. I would have reshuffled the Cabinet and ensured that those who are not aligned with me could not remain or even be part of the government.
“This is because they would sabotage all government policies. Perhaps that is their intention, to bring down the government led by Anwar,” Sinar Harian quoted him as saying while campaigning for a Bersatu candidate in Pengkalan Batu, Melaka.
Anwar’s remarks on ministers
Muhyiddin was commenting on reports that Anwar had on Thursday challenged ministers who criticised the unity government while campaigning in the Melaka state election to raise their grievances at a Cabinet meeting the following day.
It is unclear who Anwar was referring to in his speech at Dewan Pay Fong in Melaka.
However, Anwar had previously rebuked federal officeholders who used their positions to criticise unity government partners during the Negeri Sembilan state election campaign in August.
His deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also BN chairman, responded at the time that Anwar could sack BN ministers if he was unhappy with them.
Muhyiddin questions BN’s position
Muhyiddin said BN’s position was becoming increasingly confusing, given that the party still had representatives in the government, including the deputy prime minister, ministers and deputy ministers.
He said any dissatisfaction with government policies or administrative decisions should be addressed through discussions at party or Cabinet level rather than aired publicly.
“The principle is that if we are part of a government, we should not (publicly) criticise our own government or the parties within it. That is basic,” he said.
In the Nov 14 Melaka state election, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and BN will contest separately despite being allies at the federal level.
BN has instead formed an electoral pact with Perikatan Nasional (PN) for the Melaka polls.
