IPOH: Perak Barisan Nasional will introduce appointed assemblymen to the state assembly should it obtain a two-thirds majority in the 15th general election, its chairman Saarani Mohamad said.
A two-thirds majority, he said, would allow the state government to amend the Perak constitution and allow it to appoint assemblymen from minority and youth groups without the need for elections.
Saarani said similar amendments had been made in Sabah.
“Amendments to Sabah’s constitution were made to give the winning party the right to appoint six assemblymen without having to go through elections.
“These assemblymen help form a strong government with enough votes to pass legislation in the state assembly,” he said when unveiling Perak BN’s manifesto last night.
However, Saarani said BN had yet to finalise the number of appointed assemblymen the coalition would be seeking.
“The purpose (of the appointed assemblymen) is to give opportunities to minorities and youths.”
Asset declarations
Asked to comment on recent asset declarations made by opposition leaders like PKR’s Rafizi Ramli and Wong Chen, Saarani said he was not opposed to it but noted that it was not required by the Election Commission (EC).
“It’s not a problem, although it is not a requirement of the EC. It can be done, I’m not that rich,” he said, adding in jest, “Comparing myself and Rafizi, I’m much poorer.”
“So as far as declarations go, I’m not worried,” said the caretaker menteri besar.
He added that he was anxiously waiting for Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to declare their assets. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.