EXCLUSIVE The biggest hurdle faced by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be sworn in as Selangor menteri besar could very well be the palace.
Asked about this in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, the Kajang assemblyperson conceded that the ruler has his “preferences” for who will be the state’s head of government.
However, Wan Azizah said, it would be better to give Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah the “benefit of the doubt” and not to second guess his position on the on-going menteri besar crisis.
“Well, in our state, we have a ruler of the state. Tuanku is put there, and he is a very educated ruler of the state. He does have some preferences, I suppose.
“The constitution says... the leader of the majority will lead the state. I think that will weigh heavily on the Tuanku to consider,” Wan Azizah said at her sparsely-decorated office at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya.
She said that while it is “touted” that the sultan may not be too keen on her, she has yet to have an audience with the ruler on the matter. Also, the sultan has not come out to say so, publicly.
“That is what the people have been talking about. They say Tuanku like this, Tuanku like that. I am waiting for an audience with him,” she said.
“People can say whatever they like. I have come to a time in my life where I have heard so many things...”
Wan Azizah said that her second letter to the ruler requesting for an audience has been presented to Sultan Sharafuddin, who is currently overseas, and she is awaiting a reply.
Hadi didn’t hide audience with sultan
It is understood that the sultan, who is reportedly cutting short his trip to return home tomorrow, will be meeting incumbent Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as early as next Tuesday.
Wan Azizah did not care to say what she would say to the sultan but said the sultan would by now already know that Khalid has lost the majority support of the House, and will have to make his decision.
“The sultan is the sultan,” she said, noting that PKR has no intention to go on a warpath with the palace as PAS did in the Perak MB crisis.
She also did not want to speak about who has been “touting” that the sultan does not want her to be MB, or if PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is the sultan’s preference, though speculation about this has been rife following PAS’ revelation.
PAS said its president Abdul Hadi Awang (right) had an audience with the sultan on July 31 and as a result, the party nominated both Wan Azizah and Azmin as to replace Khalid as menteri besar.
PAS later clarified that Azmin’s name never cropped up during the audience with the sultan, but the party’s Youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat noted that the double-option was mooted in anticipation of “any eventualities between the palace and Wan Azizah”.
Hadi’s meeting with the sultan also took place without the knowledge of PKR and DAP, raising trust issues and putting a strain on the relationship between PAS and its partners.
Wan Azizah went on to admit that Pakatan only knew about the meeting “later”, albeit before it hit the news headlines. However, she extended an olive branch by saying that she does not think Hadi was “hiding” it from the coalition.
“I think he met the sultan on the third or fourth day of (the Islamic month of) Syawal, so it was probably a (Hari) Raya meeting. Sometimes when you meet for Raya, you don’t have to tell.”
Asked if Hadi had briefed Pakatan on his audience with the sultan at this time of crisis, she said that “maybe” Hadi told PKR de factoleader Anwar Ibrahim “as they (Pakatan leaders) deal with him, rather than with me”.
However, she hinted that gender could be a factor in this, saying that when Hadi took over as president and Anwar got out of prison in 2004, she left it “to the men”.
“He (Hadi), being a tok guru (revered scholar), I felt men will get it sorted out. But I suppose there are things that Ustaz Hadi figured... are to be and certain things are not to be,” she said, not going into specifics as she is won't to do.
So, what is Plan B?
So what is the ‘Plan B’, if indeed what PAS is implying – that the sultan is not keen on Wan Azizah for reasons yet unknown – becomes true?
“Oh, then we have to go back to the party,” Wan Azizah said.
Candidates can only come from PKR, with PAS declining the seat and DAP not qualified as it has no Selangor assemblyperson who is Muslim and Malay – a requirement for an MB under the Selangor state constitution.
But will it be Azmin, the Selangor PKR chief who has served the party and as aide to de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim for decades? Or will he be surpassed yet again?
Despite being leader of the Selangor backbenchers’ club, Azmin has never figured in PKR plans as the next menteri besar, making it necessary for the Kajang seat to be vacated to allow Anwar passage to replace Khalid.
Anwar’s sodomy conviction put a spanner in the works, and today, his wife’s chances to succeed Khalid appear to be in the hands of the palace.
Will Azmin finally be named if the palace takes a dim view of Wan Azizah?
“We go back to the Pakatan leadership to choose then,” she said.
Asked about this in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, the Kajang assemblyperson conceded that the ruler has his “preferences” for who will be the state’s head of government.
However, Wan Azizah said, it would be better to give Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah the “benefit of the doubt” and not to second guess his position on the on-going menteri besar crisis.“Well, in our state, we have a ruler of the state. Tuanku is put there, and he is a very educated ruler of the state. He does have some preferences, I suppose.
“The constitution says... the leader of the majority will lead the state. I think that will weigh heavily on the Tuanku to consider,” Wan Azizah said at her sparsely-decorated office at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya.
She said that while it is “touted” that the sultan may not be too keen on her, she has yet to have an audience with the ruler on the matter. Also, the sultan has not come out to say so, publicly.
“That is what the people have been talking about. They say Tuanku like this, Tuanku like that. I am waiting for an audience with him,” she said.
“People can say whatever they like. I have come to a time in my life where I have heard so many things...”Wan Azizah said that her second letter to the ruler requesting for an audience has been presented to Sultan Sharafuddin, who is currently overseas, and she is awaiting a reply.
Hadi didn’t hide audience with sultan
It is understood that the sultan, who is reportedly cutting short his trip to return home tomorrow, will be meeting incumbent Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as early as next Tuesday.
Wan Azizah did not care to say what she would say to the sultan but said the sultan would by now already know that Khalid has lost the majority support of the House, and will have to make his decision.
“The sultan is the sultan,” she said, noting that PKR has no intention to go on a warpath with the palace as PAS did in the Perak MB crisis.
She also did not want to speak about who has been “touting” that the sultan does not want her to be MB, or if PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is the sultan’s preference, though speculation about this has been rife following PAS’ revelation.
PAS said its president Abdul Hadi Awang (right) had an audience with the sultan on July 31 and as a result, the party nominated both Wan Azizah and Azmin as to replace Khalid as menteri besar.PAS later clarified that Azmin’s name never cropped up during the audience with the sultan, but the party’s Youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat noted that the double-option was mooted in anticipation of “any eventualities between the palace and Wan Azizah”.
Hadi’s meeting with the sultan also took place without the knowledge of PKR and DAP, raising trust issues and putting a strain on the relationship between PAS and its partners.
Wan Azizah went on to admit that Pakatan only knew about the meeting “later”, albeit before it hit the news headlines. However, she extended an olive branch by saying that she does not think Hadi was “hiding” it from the coalition.
“I think he met the sultan on the third or fourth day of (the Islamic month of) Syawal, so it was probably a (Hari) Raya meeting. Sometimes when you meet for Raya, you don’t have to tell.”
Asked if Hadi had briefed Pakatan on his audience with the sultan at this time of crisis, she said that “maybe” Hadi told PKR de factoleader Anwar Ibrahim “as they (Pakatan leaders) deal with him, rather than with me”.
However, she hinted that gender could be a factor in this, saying that when Hadi took over as president and Anwar got out of prison in 2004, she left it “to the men”.
“He (Hadi), being a tok guru (revered scholar), I felt men will get it sorted out. But I suppose there are things that Ustaz Hadi figured... are to be and certain things are not to be,” she said, not going into specifics as she is won't to do.
So, what is Plan B?
So what is the ‘Plan B’, if indeed what PAS is implying – that the sultan is not keen on Wan Azizah for reasons yet unknown – becomes true?
“Oh, then we have to go back to the party,” Wan Azizah said.
Candidates can only come from PKR, with PAS declining the seat and DAP not qualified as it has no Selangor assemblyperson who is Muslim and Malay – a requirement for an MB under the Selangor state constitution.
But will it be Azmin, the Selangor PKR chief who has served the party and as aide to de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim for decades? Or will he be surpassed yet again?Despite being leader of the Selangor backbenchers’ club, Azmin has never figured in PKR plans as the next menteri besar, making it necessary for the Kajang seat to be vacated to allow Anwar passage to replace Khalid.
Anwar’s sodomy conviction put a spanner in the works, and today, his wife’s chances to succeed Khalid appear to be in the hands of the palace.
Will Azmin finally be named if the palace takes a dim view of Wan Azizah?
“We go back to the Pakatan leadership to choose then,” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.