IPOH – Caretaker Perak menteri besar and Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu is said to have been aware of the move to remove him from power by his Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition ally Umno, but did not make any effort to arrest the situation.
An Umno source from Perak told The Vibes that after the motion of confidence was filed by Datuk Abdul Manaf Hashim (BN-Pengkalan Baharu) last week, Faizal had more than enough time to address the problem but was “overconfident” in his own popularity.
“When Manaf came up with this motion, what he (Faizal) should have done was to come see and have a talk with Datuk Saarani Mohamad, the Umno state liaison chief. He (Faizal) should have said, ‘come, let's sit down and don’t do this’.
“But even then, he (Faizal) didn’t take any initiative to meet Saarani. He didn’t do it. He just couldn’t care less.
“Even the night before (the vote of confidence), he knew about it. Why couldn't he have just picked up the phone and call to have a heart-to-heart with Saarani?” asked the source.
To make matters worse, the source added that the issue of confidence in Faizal was raised during the last state executive committee meeting, but he had allegedly dodged the issue and refused to discuss it then.
The source added that his contacts have told him that even Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was concerned about the Bersatu deputy president’s fate in Perak, and had asked Faizal if he was aware of the move to oust him as menteri besar.
Apparently, Faizal, who is also Chenderiang assemblyman, allegedly told the Prime Minister’s Office that he was aware of the motion of confidence but was confident enough to retain his political office.
“He (Faizal) thought that he could win the vote of confidence. When the matter came to the Prime Minister’s Office, I was told Faizal was asked if he is aware (of the move to oust him). He said he is aware but said ‘don’t worry, he will win’.
“He (Faizal) was that confident, meaning that he didn’t have any urgency to discuss (the matter) together in the spirit of coalition,” said the source.
Faizal had reiterated to the media that he and his party, Bersatu, were caught by surprise with yesterday’s motion where he lost the confidence of the state legislative assembly with 48 votes against him, 10 votes in support, and one damaged or abstained vote.
What led to Faizal’s downfall
However, the source said that even Bersatu at the national level was aware of Faizal’s loss of confidence in the assembly, including the support of his own coalition members, but the caretaker menteri besar and his party did nothing to resolve the growing rift.
One of the reasons that had upset Umno over Faizal’s leadership is the alleged lack of communication between himself and the rest of the coalition’s assemblymen as well as state leaders.
“The problem worsened over time. The distrust was there because we did not have a cordial relationship. There were never any communications with the parties and the leaders – that’s as far as the party is concerned.
“Even on matters that we have agreed upon, such as written agreements, Faizal failed to deliver. This is not on postings but on the matter of informing coalition members and communicating with party leaders,” said the source.
The Umno state representative added that the alleged lack of communication is only one aspect of their problem with Faizal.
There were other issues regarding administrative matters, alleged sale of state government land coupled with Faizal’s move to allegedly rupture Umno from within.
Yesterday, Umno veteran and Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz had told a news portal that the straw that broke the camel’s back was when Faizal appointed Umno’s Pengkalan Hulu assemblyman Datuk Aznel Ibrahim as his political secretary without consulting Umno’s leadership.
On Faizal’s administrative problem, the Umno source said Perak was mismanaged and not developing well, with government officers lacking proper direction.
“Number three, with regards to name dropping, to justify his actions (for his projects), most of the time he would drag the sultan’s name into (discussions during) meetings. Not once or twice, it happened many times.
“So, all of these problems, it did not surface suddenly. From Umno’s side, we have tried many times to find an amicable solution, unfortunately it didn’t go anywhere. And I think Bersatu, at the state and national levels, was stubborn.
“It felt like we were talking to a deaf person,” said the source. – The Vibes, December 5, 2020
