PKR deputy president Azmin Ali’s call for new Selangor MB rocks Pakatan’s boat
(The Star) – PKR deputy president Azmin Ali‘s statement calling for a new Mentri Besar should Pakatan Rakyat retain Selangor in the general election is threatening to cause cracks within the party.
Calling the statement a “result of hubris” in light of Azmin’s hope for electoral victory, party vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said this was merely “just an opinion”.
“I believe in his exuberance and hubris for electoral victory, voicing his personal opinion on all possibilities of leadership is just that – his personal opinion,” she said.
Nurul Izzah, who is the daughter of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was responding to a statement by Azmin in a Malay daily which implied that Pakatan would appoint a new Mentri Besar should it retain Selangor in the polls.
The Lembah Pantai MP said it would have been more prudent for Azmin to first bring up his opinion with all the stakeholders.
Faekah Husin, who is Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim‘s political secretary, expressed her disappointment that both PKR and Azmin had not discussed the matter first with their office.
“The law states that the Sultan has the final say on who the MB is although the party can put forward its candidate. PKR has never discussed this with us on the potential line-up or who will be MB,” she said.
However, PKR vice-president N. Surendran defended Azmin, saying that Khalid should look at the statement “as a compliment”.
“Those who claim this to be an insult to the Sultan don’t understand Parliamentary democracy and the position of a monarch within it,” he claimed.
Fellow vice-president Tian Chua said Faekah was “not supposed to be commenting on political issues”.
In SHAH ALAM, Khalid said Azmin’s statement was merely his “personal opinion and did not represent Pakatan as a whole”.
“Decisions on who is to be fielded, where and why will only be announced if necessary,” he said, adding that a special state assembly meeting would be called soon to discuss three main issues, including a White Paper report on Talam debt recovery exercise.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said such matters had never been discussed at Pakatan’s leadership council meetings.
“Leaders should stop making statements based on personal views because decisions should be collectively made by the top leadership,” he said.
Mustafa also blasted Selangor PKR information chief Shuhaimi Shafiei for saying that 20 PKR leaders would be appointed to the Cabinet should Pakatan attain power.
“Announcements should not be based on personal views as they will only confuse the public,” he stressed.
