Anwar nod for Azmin to be Selangor MB
(The Malaysian Insider) – PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali is expected to be appointed the Selangor menteri besar after striking an agreement with opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
PKR sources said Anwar had contacted party secretary-general Datuk Saifudin Nasution Ismail to include the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman’s name into the list of candidates that will be submitted by the multi-racial party to the palace.
“Datuk Seri (Anwar) telephoned the secretary-general from Turkey to inform him of the decision,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
It is believed that among the conditions agreed between Anwar and Azmin are the appointments for executive councillors and staff for the MB’s office.
A source from PAS also said Azmin had a high chance of being appointed to the state’s top post as it was hard for any candidate from the Islamist party to obtain the majority support from Selangor assembly members.
“Azmin will be able to get the support from his party and DAP. I believe PAS’s representatives will also support his candidacy, especially since the PAS central committee meeting had earlier decided on two candiates, namely Azmin and Dr Wan Azizah,” said a PAS leader, referring to PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who had been the sole nominee from PKR and DAP for the post.
At the on-going PAS annual assembly in Johor, party deputy president Mohamad Sabu had warned that the state government under a PAS MB would not survive for long as such an appointment would be opposed by DAP and PKR.
Moreover, since it was already agreed that the post belonged to PKR, PAS had to be commmitted to this agreement, Mohamad had said.
“If DAP and PKR disagree with someone from PAS, then Selangor will have a temporary government,” he had told reporters on the sidelines of the party’s assembly in Batu Pahat.
His statement was supported by PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali.
“The decision has been made, the seat belongs to PKR,” Mustafa had said.
