PAS cancels audience with Perak Sultan

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Islamist party PAS has ordered state lawmakers from its Perak chapter to call off an audience with Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, said Razman Zakaria.

The sultan summoned the assemblymen from PAS and Bersatu to an audience at 3pm today to ascertain their position in the selection of a new mentri besar of Perak.

According to state news agency Bernama, the Perak PAS commissioner said the order came from the party’s leadership.

Earlier today, the sultan met with Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was believed to have nominated Perak Liaison Committee chairman Datuk Saarani Mohamad for the position.

After the audience, Ahmad Zahid asserted that the nominee possessed majority support among Perak assemblymen, but declined to confirm if this included lawmakers from Perikatan Nasional parties, Bersatu and PAS.

The sultan is selecting a replacement for Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu who was ousted as the mentri besar of Perak by a confidence vote from Umno.

Also today, the Perak chapter of DAP publicly expressed its willingness to partner with rival Umno to form a new state government, although this came attached with conditions such as the inclusion of other Pakatan Harapan parties in the state.

The leaders of the Perak PH parties have just concluded their second audience with the sultan.

The position of PAS in Perak is unclear as the party first said it would not participate in the new government before reversing its stance.

Umno, Bersatu and PAS are nominally allies at the federal level, with leaders of each party included in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Ties between Umno and the offshoot Bersatu have remained testy, however, as the two were rivals until their cooperation with former Barisan Nasional parties to form the Perikatan Nasional federal government in March.