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

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang faces objections from his own party men over his proposal that PKR deputy president Azmin Ali's name be submitted as a candidate for the Selangor Menteri Besar's post. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 26, 2014.

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 Azmin for the top state post over PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 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.

Immediately after the two-hour meeting, Mustafa read a one-paragraph statement which said: “The special central committee meeting on August 25 agreed to leave it to the wisdom of the Sultan of Selangor to determine the Selangor menteri besar‎ position”.

Mustafa also refused to confirm whether the party was standing by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) presidential council’s decision to nominate only Dr Wan Azizah, and instead told reporters to “interpret (the statement) yourself”.

“(Yesterday’s) meeting was to determine PAS’s position after Pakatan Rakyat’s decision differed from PAS’s,” said the source.

“In the end, the council decided to leave it to the sultan to choose the menteri besar candidate.”

The source added that many in the meeting were shocked by Hadi’s insistence, as he himself had proposed that both Dr Wan Azizah and Azmin be considered for the post during the party’s August 17 meeting.

“The president gave two reasons. One was based on religion, the other was qualification,” said the source, referring to the previous argument that being a woman, Dr Wan Azizah, would not be able to lead.

The 13 PAS assemblymen met with Hadi twice since their two colleagues, Hulu Klang representative Saari Sungib and Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharauddin, declared their support for Dr Wan Azizah .

The last time they met was on August 20, at the PAS headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut. Azmin was said to have met Hadi that day to discuss several matters, including the coming Pengkalan Kubor by-election.

Mustafa had said yesterday that the 13 assemblymen would not join their two colleagues and 28 other Pakatan Rakyat state representatives in signing the statutory declaration supporting Dr Wan Azizah as MB.

However, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim confirmed yesterday that the letter nominating his wife for the position had been sent to the palace.

He added that there was no need for the coalition parties to send individual letters of nomination to the sultan, as the statutory declaration would suffice.

- TMI