Sultan rebukes Anwar

The palace disputes the claim that it's been the practice since 1957 to name a single candidate for Menteri Besar.

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor palace today rebuked opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for saying that the practice of naming one Menteri Besar (MB) candidate for royal approval has been the convention since 1957.

The Sultan’s private secretary, Mohamad Munir Bani, referring to a recent press release from Anwar, said, “The statement is inaccurate and confuses the rakyat.

“During the Barisan Nasional’s administration, names of candidates for the Selangor MB were presented to the Sultan by the Prime Minister during an audience.

“During this event, a few qualified candidates will be presented for His Highness’ consideration.

“The Sultan would then select one candidate from this pool of names to be appointed as the MB.”

The statement explained that in 2008, when Pakatan Rakyat gained control of Selangor, the Sultan ordered the leaders of the component parties to submit the names of potential candidates for MB and they submitted a few names.

The Sultan then asked the coalition to narrow the pool to two names. Following that, all the party leaders unanimously decided to nominate Khalid Ibrahim.

In 2013, when Pakatan retained Selangor, the palace, taking account of talks of replacing Khalid during the election campaign, asked for four names, but the leaders from Pakatan recommended Khalid again, although the Sultan did receive other nominations.

“Since Khalid already had the experience of being an MB, and had a good relationship with the palace, he was sworn in again as the MB,” said Munir.

He added , “It is the palace’s policy not to disclose the names and information presented to the palace as well as the selection process.

“But the current situation has forced the palace to release a statement as this matter needs clarification.

“Thus, if Anwar doesn’t have the accurate facts, it is advised that he refrain from making inaccurate statements that may confuse the rakyat and tarnish the image of His Highness the Sultan of Selangor.”