“I think, if the Prime Minister did present a “Cabinet vote” to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, and if the vote did favour an early general election, the Ruler would have gotten frustrated and decided that enough is enough, give the Cabinet ministers what they want. That couldn’t possibly be Ismail Sabri’s fault, could it? Perhaps, Ismail Sabri was ‘played out’ by the majority in his own Cabinet”
Raggie Jessy Rithaudeen
ڤڤرو15: ساي شك اين موڠكين سبب اڬوڠ كچيوا
Normally, I do not write based on hunches.
However, now that parliament has been dissolved, and since many are of the opinion that the Prime Minister was weak and allowed UMNO to bully him, I thought I might as well tell you about this hunch I have.
So here goes:
I have a hunch, that when Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri met the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong last Thursday, he brought up the issue of dissolution.
If you recall, following the meeting, neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the Prime Minister himself issued any statement.
The only statement that surfaced some hours later was from Istana Negara, and that, too, spoke of a “routine pre-Cabinet meeting” that the Prime Minister reportedly had with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.
Now, this is neither a denial nor an admission by Istana Negara that dissolution was discussed, meaning, it may have been discussed, but for some reason, the Palace decided that it need not be made public.
However, when Ismail Sabri rushed from Istana Negara to a “top five” meeting, I got suspicious – I began to suspect that something important besides “routine Cabinet matters” was discussed with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.
The dissolution of Parliament, perhaps?
After all, it is this which matters most to UMNO’s “top five,” not the pre-Cabinet meeting or whether the Prime Minister had coffee or Teh Tarik at Istana Negara.
Given the hush-hush surrounding the “top five” meet, and the sudden urgency to discuss “BN’s manifesto” with UMNO leaders the very same night, I smelt something fishy.
No, it was not the fish curry I had.
I think, the Prime Minister did bring up the issue of dissolution when he met the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong on Thursday, and when he finished what he had to say, the Ruler told him to confer with Cabinet and meet again on Sunday.
Ismail Sabri then rushed to inform Zahid of the development, and soon after, Zahid called for a leadership meeting to hash things out.
Then, when the Prime Minister returned to Istana Negara on Sunday, he presented the Ruler with a “Cabinet vote” that supported the dissolution of parliament.
In other words, the majority of ministers voted in favour of an early general election during a Cabinet meeting held last Friday.
Now, do I think the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong made a decision based on the vote?
Yes.
I think, if the Prime Minister did present a “Cabinet vote,” and if the vote did favour an early general election, the Ruler would have gotten frustrated and decided that enough is enough, give the Cabinet ministers what they want.
That couldn’t possibly be Ismail Sabri’s fault, could it?
Perhaps, Ismail Sabri was ‘played out’ by the majority in his own Cabinet.
If your question is “why did the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong ask Ismail Sabri to confer with Cabinet,” the answer is simple – 12 Perikatan Nasional ministers had sent a letter to the Ruler the day before.
So, the Ruler wanted to know once and for all if Ismail Sabri’s request to dissolve parliament was due to pressure from UMNO or if the Cabinet itself wanted an early election.
Simple.
Like I said, it is just a hunch.
I have no idea if this is what really happened, but it seems plausible enough.
