Pahang imbroglio ends, Wan Rosdy to head BN-Harapan state govt

The prolonged wait in forming the Pahang state government after the 15th general election has come to an end, with BN and Pakatan Harapan officially joining forces.

After a royal audience with Pahang regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Sultan Abdullah, state BN chief Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (above) will return to office as menteri besar and head the state’s unity government.

A statement from the Pahang palace stated that Wan Rosdy will be sworn in at 11am tomorrow.

Last Saturday's election resulted in a hung state legislature, with no coalition securing the 21 seats needed to form a simple majority.

Perikatan Nasional won 17 seats, followed by BN (16), and Harapan (8).

Harapan had made overtures to BN since last Monday. However, the latter had kept their cards close.

PN had also met with BN and offered them the menteri besar post, despite having one extra seat.

The formation of the Pahang state government reflects political realignments in Perak and at the federal level where Harapan and BN are working together.

The Perak state government was formed on Monday, with Harapan backing BN's Saarani Mohamad as menteri besar despite having more seats.

Second term as MB

This will be Wan Rosdy's second term as menteri besar, after first ascending to the post in 2018.

He is also a four-term assemblyperson for the Jelai state seat.

Besides backing BN to form the state government, Harapan's candidate for Tioman, Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly, has also stated his readiness to give way to BN in the state seat election if instructed to do so by the coalition's leadership.

Polling in Tioman had been postponed to Dec 7 after the death of PN candidate Md Yunus Ramli before voting started on Nov 19.

As the renomination process has concluded, Fadzli's name would still be on the ballot even if he backs out from the race, although he could inform Harapan supporters of his decision.

Pahang had long been a BN stronghold, but Bersatu and PAS' combined strength as PN saw the latter inflict heavy damage, with BN having seven fewer seats now compared to 2018 - not including Tioman.

Harapan also has one seat fewer than it did in 2018.

- Mkini