Azmin: I will respect and uphold Sultan’s decision

(The Star) – PKR deputy president Azmin Ali said the decision on who would be the Selangor Menteri Besar lies ultimately with the Sultan of Selangor and he will respect it totally.

Despite his earlier strong objections over the way party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had submitted a candidate’s name, allegedly without the knowledge of the state party’s leadership, Azmin said that whoever was eventually chosen would have his full backing.

“When the palace decides, all of us will have to accept it and I will uphold it 100% that is my style.

“Just like when the decision was made in 2008 (to appoint Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to the MB’s post), I defended him all the way,” he said, adding that Pakatan also wanted to honor its manifesto.

He reiterated that his unhappiness was not with the incumbent MB, who appeared to already have the endorsement of both DAP and PAS, but with the way Dr Wan Azizah went about selecting the candidate.

“I also welcome the statement by PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in which he admitted that the process was not observed, confirming what I said in the press conference.

“I hope that the party president will now listen to party leaders especially the state assemblymen,” he added.

When asked whether he would contest the presidency in PKR’s elections in October, he laughed off the question and said that it was still too early to decide.

“Let’s settle this first. We have to start working for the people. The party elections are still too far off.”

On his Twitter conversation with Umno leaders, including vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, about “moving together and dismantling old politics”, he said it was far from wanting to work together with Barisan Nasional.