ALOR SETAR: Kedah is drawing all the attention today with a flurry of press conferences being arranged.
The tenure of Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir is set to end by noon Tuesday (May 12) when two assemblymen aligned with former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali are scheduled to announce their stand in the state’s current political upheaval.
As the current state government is in limbo, Perikatan Nasional is also expected to hold a press conference at the Kedah Club at 3pm.
The press conference will be chaired by Kedah PAS, which is set to lead the new state government.
The subject of the press conference is not known but it is believed it would be related to the current political climate in the rice bowl state.
On Sunday (May 10), PAS and Umno bigwigs held their own closed-door meeting at the PAS Kedah Complex in Kota Sarang Semut for about three hours.
The meeting is believed to have discussed the move to topple the Mukhriz administration and install the Muafakat Nasional pact as the new state government.
The state government is also expected to hold a press conference with all Pakatan Harapan coordinators in the state at Wisma Darul Aman, the state government administrative building, at 11am today.
If all goes well, the new mentri besar is likely to be Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, the Jeneri assemblyman from PAS.
Sanusi, who cut his political teeth as the political secretary to the late mentri besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, is expected to make the requisite courtesy call on the Sultan of Kedah in the next few days.
The incoming Perikatan state government will comprise 15 assemblymen from PAS, four from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, and two each from Umno and PKR.
With a total of 23 assemblymen, Perikatan will have a solid 10-man majority in the 36-seat state assembly.
Mukhriz’s government would have collapsed much earlier had he not appealed to Azmin, now a Senior Minister in the Perikatan government, for help to hold on to Kedah.
It is learnt that Azmin then approached PAS and Umno to maintain the status quo and give Mukhriz a chance.
PAS sources said Mukhriz had even offered them state executive councillor posts but PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang said his party was not interested to work with Parti Amanah Negara, the PAS offshoot party.
This will be the second time Mukhriz has had to make a premature exit from the top job in the state.
He was mentri besar for barely three years from 2013 to 2016 before he was sacked by then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Back then, Mukhriz’s troubles began because his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had fallen out with Najib.
It is ironic that the script and even some of the actors have not changed much from then to now – Dr Mahathir is now trying to topple Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and Mukhriz is once again the sacrificial lamb.
The move to give the top job to PAS will be good optics for Perikatan and would send a signal that the coalition believes in power-sharing. - Star
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.