PETALING JAYA - Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and Umno have denied a news report that their federal lawmakers have signed a statutory declaration (SD) in support of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) president Muhyiddin Yassin as the candidate for prime minister

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan tweeted on Thursday morning (Feb 27) that the report by The Star was "totally not true".

"PAS and Umno remain with the proposal for Parliament to be dissolved," he said.

"Any formal statements from PAS only comes from the president and the secretary-general in written form."

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa also echoed his PAS counterpart's statement, saying that the report was not true.

"Umno and PAS are steadfast in our stand to request to the King for Parliament to be dissolved so that the people can exercise their right with regard to the problem facing us today," he said in a statement.

In its report, The Star quoted PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man as saying that MPs from his Islamic party, together with Umno, have backed Tan Sri Muhyiddin to be Malaysia's next premier.

"When Dr Mahathir announced his resignation and refused to accept positions, Muafakat Nasional signed an SD for Muhyiddin," he was quoted as saying, in reference to the National Consensus pact between the two Malay parties.

"But if there isn't a clear (Parliament) majority, we propose for Parliament to be dissolved," he said.

Datuk Tuan Ibrahim's purported comments come following the political crisis which saw the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan coalition due to the exit of 26 PPBM MPs and 11 Parti Keadilan Rakyat MPs.

He later clarified that the SD in support of Mr Muhyiddin was signed before the decision to call for Parliament to be dissolved.

Dr Mahathir, who resigned and was then appointed interim Prime Minister on Monday (Feb 24), said on Wednesday in a televised address to the nation that he hoped to lead a non-partisan administration which prioritises national interest.

He said: "Rightly or wrongly, politics and political parties must be set aside for the time being."

The remaining parties in PH - PKR, Democratic Action Party and Parti Amanah Negara - meanwhile, said on Wednesday that they nominated PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister candidate after Dr Mahathir failed to turn up for a presidential council meeting on Tuesday.