Azmin got what he wanted, says Chegubard

• 

I would like to thank the party president and fellow party leaders for unanimously accepting me as the MB from PKR - Azmin Ali

PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali will be sworn-in as the new Selangor menteri besar tomorrow but fellow party member Badrul Hisham Shaharin is already crying foul over the appointment.

Badrul, also known as Chegubard, claimed that the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman and Gombak member of parliament had sneakily made his way to the top post.

“I’ve said this before and will say it over and over again. Azmin has been discreetly lobbying for the mentri besar post despite the party’s decision to only support party president (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) as the rightful candidate.

“He betrayed the party and should be sacked with immediate effect,” he said to The Mole.

Azmin’s appointment letter from the palace, requesting Azmin to be present at the swearing-in ceremony to be held in Istana Alam Shah, Klang, at 10.30am tomorrow,  started making its rounds in the social media at around 6pm.

The letter, bearing subject “Appointment as the Selangor Menteri Besar,” was signed by the Sultan’s private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani.

“I am pleased to inform that the Sultan of Selangor (Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah) has agreed to appoint you as the Selangor menteri besar beginning Sept 23, 2014,” Mohamad Munir wrote in the letter addressed to Azmin.

The appointment is hoped to put a stop to the month-long squabble in Pakatan Rakyat.

Badrul, a political nemesis within PKR, has always been critical of Azmin. In fact, he is still suspended from the party since May for making open criticisms and claims that Azmin had cheated in PKR party elections.

Badrul said today that on Sept 13 he had written a formal letter to the party’s disciplinary board to inform them about Azmin’s misconduct regarding the mentri besar issue and had requested for the party to act against him. However, his plea had fallen on deaf ears.

“I will be sending another complaint to the board and to the president tomorrow.

If (former Selangor MB) Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was sacked for not toeing the party’s line, what’s the difference with Azmin?” he questioned.

Badrul claimed he had proof Azmin had sent his men to convince Pas, DAP and the Selangor palace that he was most qualified for the job.

Meanwhile, after an emergency leadership meeting tonight, the PKR president has issued a statement endorsing Azmin’s appointment as the next Selangor mentri besar.

Dr Wan Azizah said she accepted the Sultan’s decision wholeheartedly and decided withdraw her candidacy.

“I have suggested to the Central Leadership Council to accept Azmin as the Selangor menteri besar and they unanimously agreed,” she said.

Media reports said Azmin was grateful that the party fully supported him.

Azmin was one of the three candidates who was “interviewed’ by the Sultan last week to evaluate their suitability for the post. The other candidates were Sijangkang assemblyman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi and Chempaka assemblyman Iskandar Abdul Samad.

Their names were submitted by Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, which led to a storm within Pakatan as PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had ordered the alliance to only nominate his wife for the post.

Pakatan Rakyat’s continued survival as a pact was hanging in the balance when Abdul Hadi made a public statement that Dr Wan Azizah was not fit to be the menteri besar.

When contacted, Pas Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said he wished tomorrow’s appointment would end the current Pakatan within crisis.

“I hope all parties will accept the decision so that we can return to being one Pakatan state government and concentrate on the serving.

“I also hope Azmin will be a leader who is inclusive and consultative and work hard to develop the state government,” he added. - MOLE.my