Heated PAS meeting as lawmakers snub Hadi’s choice for Selangor MB

By admin-s On Aug 26, 2014

(TMI) – PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang yesterday saw his own party men rebel against him when 13 of his Selangor assemblymen rejected his choice of Selangor menteri besar – PKR deputy president Azmin Ali – during a central committee meeting, a week after they decided on proposing two names for the job.

The meeting saw Hanipa Maidin, the Islamist party’s Sepang MP, and Hadi in a heated exchange over moves to get PAS support for Azmin over PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for the top state post, said sources.

“There was tension as Hanipa questioned the move to support Azmin as 30 other lawmakers have already expressed support for Dr Wan Azizah. Hanipa wanted to know who else would support Azmin,” one source told The Malaysian Insider, adding no answer was given to that question.

PAS holds 15 seats in the 56-seat state assembly while PKR has 13 and DAP also 15. The rest are 12 Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers and Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the incumbent menteri besar who is now an independent state assemblyman after he was sacked from PKR.

PAS, PKR and DAP form Pakatan Rakyat (PR), which had said 30 lawmakers, including two from the Islamist party, were supporting Dr Wan Azizah for the top state job.

The sources said the meeting also left PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu frustrated with Hadi’s unyielding stand that two names be submitted to the Selangor Sultan for the post of Selangor MB.

Mohamad, who two weeks ago had briefed the media on the party’s stand, was conspicuously absent at the press conference after the meeting yesterday. It was learnt that the deputy president avoided the media and left the meeting by the back door after it ended, as did Hanipa.

Hadi also did not meet the press after the meeting and sent the party secretary-general, Datuk Mustafa Ali, to issue a one-paragraph statement and to brief the waiting media.

At the centre of yesterday’s heated exchange was Hadi’s insistence that he did not want Dr Wan Azizah to take up the top post in the state, leaving PAS in a spot as the assemblymen had already informed Hadi that they would not back Azmin.

“The president does not want Dr Wan Azizah, the 13 Selangor assemblymen made it clear they do not want Azmin, so the end result was the party decided to leave it to the sultan to decide on who should be the next menteri besar,” a source told The Malaysian Insider on condition of anonymity.