KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 ― The Selangor ruler’s choice of the next mentri besar should not be disputed any further, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
The former prime minister noted that Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had the prerogative to ask for two or three candidates to be named since Pakatan Rakyat (PR) could not agree on a single nominee.
“It is up to the Sultan to choose whoever he wants and I hope that all parties will agree with him,” Dr Mahathir was quoted by Malay daily Sinar Harian on its website as telling reporters in Putrajaya.
His remarks come amid rumours that PKR deputy president Azmin Ali would be sworn in tomorrow, replacing current Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
PKR and the DAP had nominated just PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as MB, while PAS sent in an undisclosed list of candidates that reportedly did not include Dr Wan Azizah.
Dr Mahathir also said today that the Selangor political crisis would continue if a vote of no confidence against the new Selangor mentri besar was taken at the state legislative assembly.
“The problem will drag on. It’s better for them to support whoever is appointed as the mentri besar,” he said.
Dr Mahathir, who served as prime minister for 22 years, said last Friday that previous Barisan Nasional (BN) governments routinely submitted just one name to the palace for mentri besar posts.
Umno lawyer Datuk Hafarizam Harun told Malay Mail Online recently, however, that the BN state governments in Perlis and Terengganu had offered more than one nominee as MB in 2008 during Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration, after the ruling coalition lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority in the general election.
