Faizal didn't see it coming

 

Outgoing Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu has conceded that he did not anticipate his ouster, in which Umno played a large part.

In an interview with Astro Awani, Faizal said he had been meeting Umno leaders regularly in his cabinet and at other meetings, but he did not get a whiff of what was to come.

"They never informed me of any problem. Perhaps the menteri besar's chair is highly desired and it led to plans to cast me aside," he said.

Faizal was ousted by the Perak State Legislative Assembly today through a motion filed by an Umno lawmaker and supported by 48 out of 59 assemblypersons.

In a separate interview, Padang Rengas Umno division head Nazri Abdul Aziz told Malaysiakini that plans to remove Faizal were afoot since two months ago.

Asked if he felt that Bersatu was stabbed in the back by Umno, Faizal, who is the Bersatu deputy president, said it was upsetting, but his priority was to focus on the rakyat.

"If you want to talk about my feelings, I am still merajuk (upset) lah... However, the continuity of government services must be prioritised.

"I will discuss these matters with the leadership of Umno, PAS and others," he said.

Faizal said his main concern was whether what happened in Perak would have an impact on the Perikatan Nasional-BN-PAS-GPS alliance at the national level or in the other states.

"I would recommend that if you need to do something, such as changing the menteri besar, you can discuss it at the coalition level.

"There's no need to bring it to the Legislative Assembly and be forced to work with rival parties.

"This will definitely hurt the feelings of our party members at all levels. I hope everyone remains patient," he said.

On speculation that Umno and Pakatan Harapan had conspired to engineer his ouster, Faizal said that appeared to be the case and added that there was a silver lining in this.

"Perhaps this is a good sign for the country when Umno can cooperate with DAP to oust me as menteri besar," he added. - - Mkini