SHAH ALAM, Aug 29- A number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Selangor have slammed Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP for insisting on nominating only PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the new menteri besar (MB).
Persatuan Anak Selangor Menyokong Menteri Besar (PASMEB) president, Mazli Saring said the action of both parties clearly challenged the state constitution which gave the Selangor Sultan the power to decide on the most eligible candidate for the MB post.
“The parties in Pakatan Rakyat should realise that to gain power, they must first respect the person with the power (Selangor Sultan) but they have been insolent. Why? Because they are not from Selangor.
“(Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah, Saifuddin (Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail) and Mohamed Azmin Ali are not Selangor-born. These are the non- Selangor born who are rude towards our Sultan,” he said at a news conference, in Shah Alam, Thursday.
Mazli welcomed them to leave Selangor if they were dissatisfied with the way the state was being administered, and reminded PKR and DAP leaders not to continue challenging the royal institution.”They can’t even nominate (candidates) properly, how will they be able to administer the state? They are highly educated but could not even follow the instruction (of the Sultan),” he said.
Angkatan Rakyat Sedar (ARAS) chairman, Abdul Rahim Abdul Wahab said PKR and DAP should heed the Sultan’s command for each Pakatan Rakyat party to name more than two candidates for the MB post.”However they chose not to by insisting on nominatng only Dr Wan Azizah for the post,” he said.
PASMEB and ARAS’ legal adviser, Ahmad Jufliz Faiza said although the Selangor state constitution stated that the Sultan should consider the majority support in the state assembly in appointing the MB, the Sultan could use his discretion and had the final say on the most eligible candidate for the post.
“This situation had occurred before in other states like Perak and Kelantan. Conventions must be respected, but if politicians do not, then it’s difficult,” he said.
Gagasan Anti Penyelewengan Selangor (GAPS) president, Hamidzun Khairuddin said the people in Selangor were increasingly tired of the antics of the political leaders over the menteri besar issue, and which had portrayed them as the creators of the problem and contributors of more, but not problem solvers.
“What Selangor needs are leaders with a big heart and behave like statesmen to assist the Selangor Sultan see the emergence of a more brilliant leadership for the state’s future,” he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah deferred accepting the resignation of Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim until a new menteri besar is named.The Sultan had ordered PAS, PKR and DAP to propose more than two candidates each to be considered by the palace for the MB post.
-BERNAMA
