Bersatu, Umno, PAS join forces to form Perak state govt

IPOH, March 9 — Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu today announced that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Umno and PAS have agreed to join forces to form a new state government.

Ahmad Faizal said that the decision was made after an agreement was reached with Umno and PAS to form the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition in Perak.

“With this coalition, there will a stable government and a strong tie with the federal government.

“This will help us to continue the development agenda and look after the people’s welfare,” he said in a press conference at the Casuarina Meru here.

Also present at the press conference were Perak Umno chairman Datuk Saarani Mohamad and Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria.

The Perak Bersatu chairman also announced that former PKR Kuala Kurau assemblyman Datuk Abdul Yunus Jamhari and independent assemblyman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi have joined the party.

“With this, the PN coalition in Perak now has a total of 32 seats in the state legislative assembly, which consist of 25 Umno assemblymen, four Bersatu assemblymen and three PAS assemblymen.

“The number of seats is sufficient to form a new state government,” he said.

PH now has a total of 26 seats, which consist of 18 DAP assemblymen, four Amanah assemblymen and two PKR assemblymen.

Ahmad Faizal also said PN will request an audience with the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah on this matter.

When asked if he would remain mentri besar, Ahmad Faizal said the Perak Sultan will decide on the matter.

“Each party has submitted the name of their candidate to be the mentri besar. The decision will be made by the Perak Sultan and we will respect and accept any decision from him,” he said.

Ahmad Faizal also said the new state executive committee chairmen (exco) line up will be discussed and decided by all the three parties after the audience with the Perak Sultan.

Ahmad Faizal also explained that the decision to form the new government with PN is aligned with the decision of the party at the Federal level.

“Also, as we all know, the PH government, which I led in Perak before is not stable. There were plots within the exco line to topple the mentri besar. It’s an open secret.

“People may say I’m a traitor now. However, we should not forget those excos, who were given the mandate to administrate the state, but instead, they were busy trying to topple the mentri besar and form their own government. So the treachery started from there,” he said.

“I also want to take this opportunity to ask forgiveness from the people of Perak for delaying this announcement. We needed time and must follow orders when announcing big matters, as our decision is influenced by the development that takes place at the Federal level,” he added.