PETALING JAYA: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should support Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to take over as prime minister, says Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran.

       The MIC president said his party will give its support to Ismail Sabri as he is the Barisan Nasional candidate most suitable to be the next prime minister.

       "I think even Zahid should support – he must support.

       "Why? Because he's from Umno. Umno is going to become the prime minister, why shouldn't they?" he said.

       However, Vigneswaran expressed scepticism that other Umno candidates would be able to muster a majority.

       "Even if they name (another Umno candidate), they don't have the numbers. Only Ismail Sabri has got the numbers.

       "They can name whoever, but nobody will have the majority.

       "There's no majority unless you get another 200 MPs coming from Mars," Vigneswaran was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini.

       Previously, Umno's Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said he had signed a statutory declaration (SD) supporting Ismail Sabri as prime minister and urged all Umno MPs to do the same to end the ongoing political turmoil.

       Nazri said he signed the SD at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (Aug 15) afternoon.

       Sources told The Star that there is an ongoing effort to collect SDs supporting Ismail Sabri as prime minister.