KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — PAS vice president Datuk Seri Idris Ahmad who was among the 12 Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers who sent a letter to the King to object to a general election during the year-end monsoon season said they never raised the issue of losing confidence towards Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government.

“When did we say that we are pulling support (from the government)? We never said that before,” the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) told reporters after attending national level Maulidur Rasul celebration at World Trade Center (WTC) here today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob earlier today said that the issue of a loss of confidence in the government does not arise despite the letter to the King.

He said that the government is still functional because the prime minister still has the support of more than 112 federal lawmakers to command the Parliament.

On October 7, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan claimed the current federal government has lost “40 per cent of its legitimacy” after PN ministers sent the letter

He described the PN letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as akin to breaking ranks with the government as such issues are supposed to be resolved within the Cabinet.

Last Thursday, despite being opposed to the dissolution of Parliament anytime soon to trigger snap elections this year, PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the coalition has not withdrawn its support for prime minister who is from Umno.

Hamzah, who is also Bersatu secretary-general, was asked if the much-talked about letter its MPs sent to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong two days ago to protest Umno’s push to hold a general election this year implied that PN MPs no longer had any confidence in Ismail Sabri’s ability to lead the federal government.