Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been urged to resign as Deputy Prime Minister if he no longer shares the position of the current government’s leadership.
PKR Youth chief Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim said Zahid should step down if he had any dignity, given what he described as the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman’s increasingly divergent stance from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He added that several other BN leaders were qualified to take over the position.
“If he has any dignity, he should resign as Deputy Prime Minister because he has clearly shown an attitude that is not aligned with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“There are many other leaders, such as Tok Mat (Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan), Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani and Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who could replace him as Deputy Prime Minister,” he said.
Kamil was speaking at a dinner event in Bukit Rambai on Thursday.
Asked whether Anwar should dismiss Zahid from the position, Kamil said the decision was entirely up to the Prime Minister.
“That is for the Prime Minister to decide. He can replace him with someone else, as it is within his prerogative.
“But if you ask me, there is no need to sack him. If he has any dignity, he should resign as Deputy Prime Minister,” he said.
Earlier, DAP national chairman Gobind Singh Deo had challenged Zahid to resign if he no longer had confidence in the current government’s leadership, rather than calling for Parliament to be dissolved earlier.
Gobind described Zahid’s remarks as inappropriate, particularly given his position as the country’s second-highest-ranking government leader.
However, Zahid insisted there was no question of BN ministers failing to support Anwar’s leadership at Federal level.
He said BN ministers had never opposed the Unity Government’s policies or disagreed with the Prime Minister during Cabinet meetings.
Zahid maintained that differences between political parties at state level, particularly during elections, were their respective rights and should not be interpreted as a lack of support for Anwar’s leadership.
