IPOH, Dec 7 — Umno’s Rungkup assemblyman Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya today quashed rumours that he has been shortlisted as one of the candidates for the Perak mentri besar’s post.
Shahrul, in an Instagram post, revealed that all 25 Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen in Perak have consensually nominated state liaison chairman Datuk Saarani Mohamad 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.
He also stressed that the position (mentri besar post) is a responsibility and not simply up for grabs.
“Who are we to claim we are the best in the presence of Allah? We have to go back to basics… We are here to serve the rakyat in any capacity we can,” he said.
It has been widely reported that Shahrul was among the shortlisted candidates for the mentri besar post together with Saarani and Pangkor assemblyman Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also a former Perak mentri besar, after the party held a special meeting on Saturday night at the Perak Umno building here.
A source from BN, however, said that Umno has yet to formally submit Saarani’s name to the Perak Ruler as talks with potential coalition partners to form the state government were ongoing.
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 Perikatan Nasional (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.
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.