PETALING JAYA: The new administration led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob should not be labelled a Perikatan Nasional government, say two Umno leaders.

       Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said it would be a mixed government comprising Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Parti Bersatu Sarawak (PBS).

       "Perikatan consists of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, PAS, Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Sabah STAR (and SAPP).

       "Barisan, GPS and PBS are not members," he said in a Facebook post on Saturday (Aug 21) night.

       On Saturday, Perikatan secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said the appointment of Ismail Sabri, the former deputy prime minister from the previous Perikatan administration, would ensure the continuity of programmes and plans already in place to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

       Shortly after Ismail Sabri was sworn in as prime minister on Saturday, former premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he would continue to help the Perikatan government to deliver the best service to the people, especially during a period of national recovery.

       However, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that with Ismail Sabri officially appointed as the ninth prime minister, the Perikatan-branded federal government had come to an end.

       "Even before this, Barisan was not a component member of Perikatan.

       "The former administration was a combination of Barisan, Perikatan, PBS and GPS and not a Perikatan government.

       "I don't know who simply labelled the former government as a Perikatan government," he wrote on Facebook.