KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — Perikatan Nasional’s open hostility towards Barisan Nasional and its undermining of the government were why the 15th general election had to be held now, caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

In a response to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s expressed disappointment with political developments in the country, Ismail Sabri pointed out that 12 of his ministers had written to Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to reject the dissolution of Parliament.

“The actions of these ministers clearly undermine the office of the prime minister appointed by the Agong, and erodes the spirit of solidarity in the administration,” Ismail Sabri said in a statement today.

The Umno vice-president added that ministers from PN were becoming increasingly hostile towards his Barisan Nasional coalition, even openly criticising the decisions and policies of the government of which they were a part.

He cited the example of PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s open declaration that his coalition considered BN its main enemy for the 15th general election, despite being partners in the current government.

Ismail Sabri further noted that Muhyiddin, as the chairman of the National Recovery Council, previously suggested that Parliament be dissolved over the government’s alleged failures.

“A government can only function well if there is unity and alliance to serve in the best interests of the Malaysian Family. The country needs a stable government to face the coming challenges,” he said.

After Ismail Sabri announced the dissolution of Parliament yesterday, Istana Negara released a statement saying the Agong was disappointed with political developments in the country and had no choice but to give royal assent to dissolve Parliament.

Earlier this month, PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man admitted that 12 PN ministers wrote to the Agong asking him not to agree to a general election during the north-east monsoon season at the end of the year.

Umno seized on this admission and said it showed that Ismail Sabri had lost the support of 40 per cent of his Cabinet, making a general election inevitable.