SHAH ALAM - Opposition Leader and PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim warned it would be foolish for PAS to try and submit a separate proposal containing two names for the post of Mentri Besar or chief minister to the Selangor Sultan to consider.
"They have a problem how do they submit a name who has publicly informed them and in a meeting that he is not prepared to be nominated," Anwar told Malaysia Chronicle on the sidelines of the PKR 10th annual congress on Sunday.
"If that happens which I hope it does not happen then we will have 43 for Azizah and 13 for Azmin which is not good for Azmin, which is why Azmin said no, he does not want."
Not good for Azmin
Pakatan Rakyat, the federal opposition coalition, is divided over who should head Selangor, the country's richest state.
As a coalition, the three parties DAP, PKR and PAS have agreed on Azizah, who is Anwar's wife and the PKR president. They have submitted only her name to the Palace after a meeting held last week, along with letters of support from 30 state assemblymen, 2 of whom are from PAS.
However, PAS president Hadi Awang is insistent on proposing a second name - Azmin Ali, the PKR deputy president - on the alleged grounds that the Sultan does not favor Azizah. Many suspect it is also to do with political rivalry against Anwar and to appease Muslim conservatives who are uncomfortable with the notion of a woman leader holding such a high-profile post.
PAS has ordered their remaining 13 reps not to sign the letters of support to Azizah, which they were due to complete on Friday.
Doubts cast on strength of Azizah's support?
Political insiders believe Hadi is planning to send a separate proposal containing two candidates - Azizah as well as Azmin - to the Sultan in a bid to thwart the Pakatan submission.
"13 because PAS also endorsed Azizah and that becomes 43 and PAS also endorsed Azmin, that's 13. So it's not wise, politically it's not tenable, it's not good even for Azmin," said Anwar.
When asked if that would upset the apple cart for Azizah as it may give the Palace an excuse to turn her down on the grounds of doubt over the strength of her support, Anwar believed the Sultan behave fairly.
"Not necessary because the decision has been taken and PAS has endorsed and signed the form," said Anwar.
He also said PKR was still awaiting a reply from Palace on a date for an audience with the Sultan, who is believed to have arrived home from an overseas trip yesterday.
"We have to wait for that," said Anwar. - Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.