KUALA LUMPUR – The prime minister’s senior political secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin clarified that he did not challenge the narrow victory of Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat during the 15th general election (GE15) to facilitate the formation of a unity government.
In a statement to Scoop, Shamsul said that at the time, the PKR president, who is now the prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim informed him that a unity government was being formed, which involved a specific process, especially since Zahid was the Umno president.
“I mentioned (in the podcast) that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said we were forming the government, therefore it is clear that there was a process to it.
“Discuss (with Umno), agree, and submit to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he said today.
Earlier, a video clip went viral of Shamsul as a guest on the “Apa Cerita” podcast, where he claimed that the PKR president had asked him not to challenge Zahid’s narrow victory in Bagan Datuk during GE15.
In the podcast, Shamsul mentioned that he wanted a vote recount due to the slim margin of 348 votes.
“He (Anwar) called and said: ‘Okay, I am impressed with your hard work in Bagan Datuk and so on. But Sam, we want to form a government. Zahid has already signed the letter to establish the government’,” Shamsul said in the podcast.
Commenting further, Shamsul said that he appeared on the “Apa Cerita” podcast casually to share his experiences and journey as a young politician. Therefore, the video should be watched in its entirety as it has continuity between the topics discussed.
“I took the official line and personal experience (records) to answer the questions posed. I did not intend to create polemics,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shamsul also appreciated the statement made by the Malaysian ambassador to the United States Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz regarding the issue, where Nazri emphasised that negotiations to form a government are not an offence.
“Even though he is far away in Washington, he understands the context and perspective very well,” he said.
Earlier, Nazri, in his statement to Astro Awani, stressed that inter-party negotiations to form a government are common practice in a democracy.
He said the offence lies in attempting to buy MPs to gain support for forming a government.
“If there is no majority, it is not an offence for negotiations to be held to form a government. What is wrong is when there is an attempt to ‘buy’ MPs to gain support.
“If Anwar (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) negotiated with Zahid, it is not wrong because no party could form a government,” said Nazri.
Commenting further, Shamsul said he also shared his views with Umno information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said regarding the issue in Parliament this morning.
Azalina, in her statement yesterday, advised Shamsul to focus on the country’s political stability and avoid any statements that could cause confusion.
According to Azalina, transparency and respecting the democratic process are important in the political arena, especially concerning elections.
“As experienced politicians, we should act responsibly, especially when discussing election results to maintain political integrity,” she said. – October 15, 2024