SHAH ALAM, March 6 — Selangor Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Azmin Ali today condemned Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) Selat Klang assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari for expressing support towards Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
Azmin, who is also Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Selangor chief, said his partymate’s action betrayed the will of voters who elected him.
“We, members of the PN state assembly, strongly condemn the actions taken by [Abdul Rashid]. This is a treacherous and irresponsible act to the mandate given by the people,” he said during a press conference after today’s state legislative assembly sitting, here.
Azmin said action will be taken based on Bersatu’s provisions and constitution.
“But, what’s the next course of action, we have the provisions of the law, we have a constitution in the party, certainly this process we’re going to go through to be fair to all parties,” he said.
Earlier, Abdul Rashid declared his support for Amirudin’s leadership of the Selangor government.
In a statement, Abdul Rashid affirmed his backing for Amirudin’s leadership was voluntary and not coerced.
He also expressed concern over the perceived silence of PN in addressing accusations against the Malay Rulers.
Abdul Rashid, who was first elected as Selat Klang assemblyman in 2018 under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, defended his seat in the last state election with a substantial majority of 42, 703 votes.
He was recently replaced by Azmin as the Selangor Bersatu chief.
In related matter, Azmin said his party has candidates for the six parliamentary seats Bersatu will seek to vacate over its party members’ decision to support Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“That’s the decision to be made by the PN. We will discuss because we have a pool of leaders, too many candidates that are interested to represent PN in any by-elections,” he said.
On March 2, Bersatu amended the party’s constitution to prevent its representatives from defecting in the future, after six of its federal lawmakers openly declared support for Anwar.
The decision was made in an extraordinary general meeting, where party representatives unanimously supported the motion to amend Article 10 of the Bersatu constitution.
The article stipulates matters related to the resignation and dismissal of party members.
In January, Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman challenged the party to sack all its MPs who expressed support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Suhaili, suspended for six years effective last November by Bersatu, was one of the party’s six MPs who openly supported Anwar because it would make it easier for them to get help for the people in their constituencies.
The other five Bersatu MPs who expressed their support for Anwar were Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar) and Datuk Zulkafperi Hanafi (Tanjong Karang).
