PETALING JAYA: Calls to reconvene Parliament are not meant to elect PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister, says Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid.

       The Kapar MP and PKR central committee member said that repeated calls to reconvene Parliament were in line with the wishes of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Malay Rulers, who had called for Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible.

       "Many have made accusations that Anwar wants to grab power (if Parliament reconvenes) but we have never mentioned that.

       "In all of our discussions, he (Anwar) never mentioned that he wants to be the prime minister," the senior PKR lawmaker said in a virtual press conference Saturday (June 26).

       Instead, he said that Pakatan Harapan wants Parliament to reconvene to ensure there are checks and balances as well as to debate matters related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

       "We want to go to Parliament to highlight the rights of the people and debate about poverty, daily cases and others," he added.

       He also questioned the legitimacy of the government after Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz admitted to collecting statutory declarations from a group of Barisan Nasional MPs.

       "These all can be debated in Parliament," Abdullah Sani said.

       On June 23, Nazri revealed that twenty-five MPs from Barisan Nasional have signed statutory declarations (SDs) in support of Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein because they have lost confidence in Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

       In an interview with Sinar Harian, Nazri also revealed that he was the "mastermind" in obtaining the statutory declarations, but said it isn't solely aimed at replacing the prime minister.