IPOH, Dec 7 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) today said the party did not set any terms in exchange for retaining support in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
A source from Perak Bersatu told Malay Mail that the party did not set any terms, including the appointment of Rungkup assemblyman Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya as the mentri besar.
“No. No such syarat (term),” the Bersatu assemblyman replied briefly in a WhatsApp message to Malay Mail.
When asked if this means Bersatu will work with Umno to form a new government, he replied: “We are working with Umno and other parties in federal and many states. Of course, we’re still with PN.”
The Bersatu assemblyman’s comments also indicate that Perak PN already has a simple majority to form a new government as Umno has 25 seats while Bersatu has five seats.
The state assembly consists of 59 assemblymen and the support of 30 assemblymen is required to secure a simple majority.
At the moment, Umno has 25 seats, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) five seats, PAS three seats, DAP 16 seats, Amanah five, PKR three, Gerakan one and one Independent.
Malaysiakini today reported a source close to Ahmad Faizal as saying that the PN coalition is ready to cooperate with Umno as long as Shahrul is appointed as the mentri besar.
The source in the report added that Perak PN is disappointed and believes that state Umno liaison chairman Datuk Saarani Mohamad is behind the motion of no confidence, which ousted Ahmad Faizal as the mentri besar.
The source also said the matter was discussed on Saturday and Perak PAS also attended the meeting.
It has been widely reported that Shahrul, Saarani and Pangkor assemblyman Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also a former Perak mentri besar, were among the shortlisted candidates for the mentri besar post.
However, Shahrul today quashed rumours that he has been shortlisted as one of the candidates for the post.
Shahrul, in an Instagram post, revealed that all 25 Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen in Perak have consensually nominated Saarani for the post.
“I ask everyone not to speculate anymore. We leave it to the discretion of Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah to consider who has the simple majority to become the mentri besar,” he wrote in his post.
Yesterday, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also BN chairman, said the coalition would consider forming a new alliance if it cannot retain the existing coalition under PN to form a government in Perak.
PAS said it is open to discussing a way to form a government in Perak again, reversing its initial stance last Friday.