SHAH ALAM – Should Perikatan Nasional (PN) win the Selangor state election, Pas Selangor requests that the Menteri Besar candidate from the coalition shall be named by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah based on His Majesty’s prerogative.
Its Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar said that any party in PN cannot confirm the name of any individual as a candidate for menteri besar without the blessing of the Sultan of Selangor.
He said this is because the State Government law stipulated the power to elect the menteri besar was under Sultan of Selangor’s right to make decisions that all parties must respect.
He said there had not been a final decision in the Selangor PN meeting to decide who would be the PN’s menteri besar candidate, although Pas confirmed that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) would lead the coalition machinery in the state.
"We confirm that Bersatu is leading the Selangor PN machinery because the Selangor PN Chairman (Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali) also came from the party.
"But who is the poster boy candidate for Selangor PN has yet to be decided.
"Pas Selangor was not surprised when Bersatu announced that the menteri besar candidate might be from the party.
"It’s just that all parties need to take care of the hearts and sensitivities of Istana Selangor by not pre-empting the Sultan’s discretionary powers,” he told Sinar Premium on Friday.
He commented on the statement of Bersatu Selangor Chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari, who revealed that the Selangor Menteri Besar candidate was expected to be selected from among the party’s State Assembly candidates if PN succeeded in wresting the state from Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the next state election.
The Selat Klang assemblyman explained that the decision was made based on the number of electoral seats contested by Bersatu over Pas in Selangor, besides the party leading the PN election machinery.
Selangor PN sources previously informed that Azmin, who is also the Central PN Information Chief, and Rashid were among the names mentioned as Selangor Menteri Besar candidates from the coalition, in addition to the Selangor Pas Commissioner Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi.
Sukri, also the Selangor PN Youth Leader, said Pas has no problem accepting Bersatu’s candidate as menteri besar, but only after the Sultan of Selangor approved the list presented by the coalition should it win the state election.
"It’s just that Pas Selangor feels uncomfortable that there are parties talking about who the MB candidate is when the state election is approaching.
"Pas Youth and Selangor PN are more focused on fighting Islamophobia, explaining to the people that we are not racist and most importantly, presenting the development plan that we want to bring to this state,” he stressed.