Azmin is the new Selangor MB. End of Pakatan crisis?
Alyaa Alhadjri, The Ant Daily
While the appointment of Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman Azmin Ali as the new Selangor menteri besar today may end the political impasse in Selangor, it is undeniable that the “damage has been done” to Pakatan Rakyat and work must be done to control its impact and ensure survival of the three-party coalition.
Yesterday morning started with all concerned parties remaining tight-lipped over the candidate to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, but all signs started pointing towards Azmin later in the day, culminating in him obtaining the full backing from his own party, as well as from PAS and DAP very late in the day.
The PKR deputy president will be sworn in to office during a ceremony at Istana Alam Shah, Klang, this morning.
The Selangor Palace was expected to issue an official statement on the matter yesterday but a copy of an appointment letter that named Azmin as the new menteri besar, signed by the Selangor Sultan’s private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani, was instead circulated on social media.
Mohamad Munir was subsequently quoted as confirming that the letter was legitimate and it was received by Azmin who later met with PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at the party headquarters in Tropicana.
In a statement released after the meeting, Wan Azizah said she accepted the Sultan’s decision with an open heart and thanked the 30 Selangor state representatives from Pakatan (13 PKR, 15 DAP and 2 PAS) who supported her since Aug 14, through signing statutory declarations to counter Khalid’s claim of retaining majority support in the state-assembly.
“I appreciate the commitment shown by these 29 state-assembly members who have placed the importance of upholding the people’s mandate above their own personal interests.
“And it is in this spirit that I have decided to withdraw my candidacy as Selangor MB (and) proposed to the PKR central leadership council (MPP) that Azmin is nominated as the party’s MB candidate,” she said, adding that the MPP has unanimously agreed to her proposal.
The Gombak MP was earlier quoted by by the media as saying that the palace had given “no reason” for rejecting Wan Azizah.
The PKR MPP subsequently confirmed its unanimous support for Azmin but expressed regret over the palace’s treatment towards Wan Azizah’s candidacy and the alleged refusal to grant her an audience, despite commanding majority support.
“The MPP therefore views that this process to endorse appointment of the new menteri besar was not done according to provisions under the Selangor state enactment and goes against principles of parliamentary democracy.
“This situation has also tarnished sanctity (kemuliaan) of the royal institution,” the council said in a statement last night, stressing that such a process must not set a precedent for future appointments.
The Selangor Sultan had last week granted audiences to three Pakatan assemblymen – Azmin, along with two PAS state executive councillors Iskandar Samad (Chempaka) and Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi (Sijangkang) – instead of Wan Azizah who was PKR and DAP’s sole candidate for the post.
The PAS central working committee, on the other hand, had proposed the names of both Wan Azizah and Azmin but the decision was overridden by party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who submitted his own set of three names: state exco Iskandar Samad (PAS-Chempaka), Dr Idris Ahmad (PKR-Ijok) and Dr Yaakub Sapari (PKR-Kota Anggerik).
Anwar, who subsequently apologised, was twice rebuked by the Selangor Sultan for defying his order to submit more than two candidates and insisting that it has been a “convention since Independence” to only submit one name for endorsement.
Following PKR’s endorsement of Azmin, PAS Selangor secretary Mohd Khairuddin Othman pledged the party state chapter’s commitment to work with the Gombak MP and expressed hope that all parties can move on with administering the state as a united pact.
