PETALING JAYA, Sept 22 — PKR deputy president Azmin Ali claimed that his party and Selangor state lawmakers have unanimously agreed to his appointment as Selangor’s next mentri besar.
All 13 PKR lawmakers, including Azmin, had initially backed party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as mentri besar.
Azmin told reporters that he met with PKR’s 12 Selangor state lawmakers at 5.30pm after receiving the letter containing the state ruler’s decree at 3pm today.
“By God’s grace I received the letter from the palace and I have informed the party’s leadership.
“I would like to thank the party president and all my party colleagues for unanimously supporting me as the mentri besar,” he said to cheers from his supporters outside PKR headquarters here.
In the letter signed off by the Sultan’s private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani, Azmin was instructed to attend the swearing in ceremony at 10am tomorrow at Istana Alam Shah in Klang.
Also today, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail endorsed the Selangor palace’s decision to pick Mohamed Azmin Ali as the mentri besar of the state, saying she accepts the verdict with an “open heart.”
In a statement, she thanked the 29 members of the state assembly from all three parties within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition who had supported her and added that she had decided to withdraw her nomination for the job to lead the country’s richest state.
“I proposed to the central leadership committee that Azmin Ali be made the nominee for the mentri besar post; the committee which met today agreed unanimously with my proposal ” she added.
“I took this decision for the good of the people and the realisation that this crisis must be resolved as quickly as possible,” she added.
Separately PAS issued its own statement backing Azmin’s appointment. Its Selangor chapter expressed its readiness to work with the new MB.
“PAS congratulates Azmin Ali and we pray that he can carry out his duties well,” it said.
