KLANG, Sept 23 ― Selangor’s ruler had no choice but to delay naming a new mentri besar to take over from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim because PKR and DAP refused to obey the sultan’s decree to nominate more candidates, a palace official said today.
The Selangor Sultan's private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani said PKR and DAP had complicated the appointment process, forcing the ruler to look for prospective candidates other than the one name handed in by the two Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
“The delay in appointing a mentri besar this time was due to the strife within PKR and the inability from parties within Pakatan Rakyat to come to a consensus to choose a candidate for mentri besar,” Munir said in an official statement.
Munir denied allegations that the palace had interfered in the MB crisis, saying that the Selangor Sultan was acting within his powers and following the state constitution.
"YB Azmin Ali is also PKR deputy president. Therefore the Sultan is confident that he would have the support of not only PKR, but also PAS and DAP, the parties which form the coalition government ruling Selangor now," he added.
PKR deputy president Azmin, who was sworn in this morning as Selangor’s 15th mentri besar, takes over today from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim who had held the post for more than six years from 2008.
Azmin’s appointment puts an end to a protracted crisis which has pitted Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies PKR, DAP and PAS against one another.
Khalid’s administration has been long been criticised as “stingy” by his critics, especially those aligned with Azmin.
Before politics, Khalid was a technocrat who made his name through the corporate world, heading, among others, state fund manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Guthrie Group Bhd.
Azmin, 50, who is Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman and Gombak MP, was sworn in before the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, at the Throne Room of the Istana Alam Shah at 10.42am today.
