Takiyuddin admits to drafting DPM deal
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has admitted to drafting the agreement concerning the position of deputy prime minister (DPM), which was labelled memorandum of agreement (MOA), as claimed by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.
However, he said he wrote it while in his position as the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) and not...
PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has admitted to drafting the agreement concerning the position of deputy prime minister (DPM), which was labelled memorandum of agreement (MOA), as claimed by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.
However, he said he wrote it while in his position as the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) and not in his party’s capacity, and that the DPM appointment still needs the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“It is up to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to decide whether to elect a new DPM or not.
“Therefore, (you) cannot say that it is compulsory to elect a DPM even when the prime minister has the prerogative to elect his own DPM, should he feel the need to,” Takiyuddin was quoted as saying by Berita Harian Online while attending a programme organised by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry in Bukit Gantang, Perak today.
Takiyuddin stated that as the then minister holding the Parliament and Law portfolio, all matters concerning legal documents were handled by him.
“So, I would give the due respect to all the related legal documents, and not just because I am Takiyuddin,” he said.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Muhyiddin had advised his allies in PAS to refer to their party’s secretary-general about the existence of this agreement.
According to the Perikatan Nasional chairperson, Takiyuddin was the person who drafted the agreement.
Additionally, the former prime minister also reminded PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang that other witnesses to the agreement besides Takiyuddin were Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin and Umno Ketereh chief Annuar Musa.
Previously, on July 8, Hadi said there was no agreement made regarding the appointment of a DPM between PN and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
According to him, PAS is still holding on to the preliminary decision of the new government to not elect a DPM.
When asked whether Hadi knew about the existence of the MOA, the energy and natural resources minister stated that he was unsure.
“Not everyone knows about the MOA. So, you would have to ask Hadi himself whether he knew or not as he was not the one who signed the MOA.
“Maybe his (Hadi’s) statement before this (about the existence of the Muhyiddin-Ismail Sabri agreement) was a spontaneous answer,” said Takiyuddin.
The MOA is reported to also contain information about the number of positions in the cabinet and more specifically, about the numbers from each party that supports Ismail Sabri as prime minister.
