Unconditional support for MB, says Muhyiddin
(Bernama) – The Barisan Nasional (BN) today expressed unconditional and sincere support for Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to continue as the mentri besar of Selangor.
Deputy Prime Minister and BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the decision was arrived at after he discussed with Prime Minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on BN’s position with regard to the leadership tussle in Selangor.
“So, based on several policies, reasons and principles, the BN supports the Selangor MB.
“We did not consider the political ideologies and such; we saw no justification for a change of leadership as proposed by Pakatan Rakyat in the state,” he said when asked to comment on the situation in Selangor after he had chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Tourism here.
Muhyiddin said the support was unconditional and sincere because the BN wanted to see stability in the state.
“If you ask how we will benefit by supporting him (Abdul Khalid), we ourselves do not know how we will gain,” he said.
Muhyiddin said of more importance was the question of continuity of leadership and the fate of the people in the state.
He also said that all the BN assemblymen in Selangor would express support for Abdul Khalid should there be a vote of confidence or otherwise in the MB.
“Selangor is an important state and it is for this reason that we feel that it is better not to have a change in leadership, even though Abdul Khalid is not from a BN party,” he said.
He added that, in the last several months, Abdul Khalid had extended support and cooperation with regard to the water problem and restructuring of the water industry in Selangor as well as the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant. At this stage, that project can go on as it is the main thing to avert a water crisis. We at the federal government feel that the spirit of cooperation established should be continued,” he said.
Muhyiddin said he feared that a leadership change could undermine the understanding and agreement reached over the water issue.
“In such a situation, whom should we support? For the federal government, it has to be ascertained that the fate of the people in Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur is not undermined but is safeguarded through the agreement reached.
“In my opinion, if there is a leadership change, there may be demands to change this and that which can have a major impact on the water issue and welfare of the people in Selangor and the Federal Territory (of Kuala Lumpur),” he said.
Asked whether changes could be made to the agreement reached if there was a leadership change, Muhyiddin said he hoped that the agreement would be respected.
“However, if there is a change, I cannot foresee what will happen and that is what we fear,” he said.
Asked whether he thought there would be a dissolution of the state legislative assembly in Selangor, Muhyiddin said that was difficult to predict as it was not known what Pakatan Rakyat would do.
