Perak tug of war escalates, with Harapan meeting sultan today

Perak Pakatan Harapan will meet Sultan Nazrin Azlan Shah this afternoon to get the monarch’s consent to form the state government, despite BN announcing earlier that they had enough seats to do the same.

Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming told Malaysiakini that Harapan leaders will meet the sultan today in Istana Kinta, Ipoh, around 3pm.

At the same time, Perak PAS leaders have been meeting their central leaders in Terengganu to discuss whether to form a state government with BN or Harapan.

Yesterday night, state BN chairperson Zambry Abd Kadir's communications director Nizam Isa said BN already had enough seats to form the state government and will meet the sultan to seek his consent on the matter.

However, he did not mention whether the coalition would form a state government with PAS, nor when BN representatives would meet the sultan.

Just a few hours prior to the BN press conference, Perak PAS said they had met BN and Pakatan Harapan leaders unofficially, and told them that the party will not stop its struggles, including the move to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, or Act 355.

Perak has a total of 59 state seats. In the May 9 polls, Harapan won 29 seats, BN 27 seats, and PAS three seats. 

Given the situation, PAS now finds itself in the position of kingmaker to help either BN or Harapan reach the 30 seats needed to form the Perak government. - Mkini