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Sources: Ismail, Hishammuddin’s promotion to pre-empt Umno supreme council’s decision to leave Perikatan tonight

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — The promotion of Umno ministers Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today is believed to be deliberately done prior to a decisive Umno Supreme Council meeting tonight, sources have said.

Several sources close to Umno top leaders accused the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government of appointing Ismail as deputy prime minister and Hishammuddin as a senior minister to influence Umno against leaving the coalition’s government.

“Majority of the Supreme Council members have agreed with president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to leave PN,” said an anonymous source, referring to the Umno president.

“There is another group who supported the PN are doing this on purpose.”

Meanwhile another source who is himself in the Supreme Council echoed the sentiment, saying there are groups of “Umno MPs” behind the decision to appoint the duo.

“The Umno MPs are trying to preempt the council’s decision, but the call to quit PN is practically decided,” said the source who did not want to be identified.

Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reported another Supreme Council member Datuk Ahmad Puad Zarkashi as saying Ismail and Hishamuddin should have rejected the post in order to toe the party’s decision.

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