Perak takeover: Amanah, DAP says PAS has head in the clouds

Several Perak Harapan leaders today expressed disbelief at the state's PAS Youth’s statement that the Perak government could change hands should PAS and BN merge forces.

State exco member Asmuni Awi (above) opined that PAS Youth chief Akmal Makarudin must be “dreaming” and jested that the latter could not be good in mathematics.

Asmuni also challenged Akmal to list the names of 27 assemblypersons PAS and BN had in the state assembly.

“I asked them in return, who are these 27 assemblypersons? If the number is right, hold a press conference and meet the sultan [...] there is no need to wait for the assembly session (to start),” Asmuni, who is also Perak Amanah chief, told Malaysiakini.

He quipped: “I don’t know, perhaps they included me as an Umno assemblyperson in their calculations.”

Asmuni’s comments came after Utusan Malaysia online today quoted Akmal as saying that Umno and PAS now had 30 state seats compared to Pakatan Harapan's 29.

Akmal, the Selama assemblyperson, claimed that the Perak state administration would change hands. The issue came about after the formalisation of ties between Umno and PAS in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Umno acting president Mohamad Hasan described the unity between the two once rival parties as a “marriage” and a culmination of ties which began for the Sungai Kandis by-election in August last year.

In GE14, Umno managed to secure 27 state seats in Perak, while PAS only managed three. However, Umno representatives Zainol Fadzi Paharudin (Sungai Manik) and Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi (Tualang Sekah) have left the party.

Zainal eventually joined Bersatu, while Nolee is a Harapan-friendly independent. Akmal had reportedly said that had the duo not exited Umno, the state would now fall to the opposition.

Meanwhile, another state exco, Abdul Aziz Bari (above) from DAP, also viewed the changing of hands in the state as impossible.

He asked PAS to explain how they had acquired 30 assemblypersons for their side.

The Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson said the only way Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu’s position would be in jeopardy was if the opposition had a majority in the Perak assembly or if Ahmad Faizal resigned.

“The assembly will be held in April. If Putrajaya, as the central party, instructs the MB to resign, then it will be a different story. It can be arranged.

“[...] but how are PAS and Umno going to go about it now? They are the opposition. It is not so easy.

“They can dream,” he said. -Mkini