KUALA LUMPUR – After being snubbed for withdrawing from an audience with Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, PAS assemblymen in Perak may finally obtain a position in the state’s executive committee if things go smoothly for party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang tomorrow.
Hadi, who is also Marang MP, will meet the Perak ruler at 11am tomorrow to explain the party’s political position and seek forgiveness.
“Following the audience, if things go well, there is a high probability that PAS will be granted royal consent to be sworn into the exco,” a source told The Vibes.
Originally, PAS’ three assemblymen, led by its state commissioner and Gunung Semanggol assemblyman Razman Zakaria, were summoned to Istana Kinta in Ipoh last Tuesday at 3pm to submit their support for Umno’s then menteri besar candidate Datuk Saarani Mohamad.
However, Razman requested to withdraw the audience after receiving instructions from the party’s central leadership.
PAS quickly backtracked on its decision a day later after it was bombarded on social media for allegedly “insulting and offending the royal institution” and its “rude” behaviour towards Sultan Nazrin.
Party secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan issued a statement last Wednesday instructing Razman, Selama rep Mohd Akmal Kamaruddin and Kubu Gajah’s Khalil Yahaya to seek a fresh audience with the ruler.
They were granted an audience at 4.30pm last Wednesday.
Following the meeting, Dewan Negara Perak member Datuk Seri Mohd Annuar Zaini announced that the swearing-in ceremony for the menteri besar and exco members will take place in Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar, last Thursday.
During the ceremony, no PAS assemblymen were sworn in by Sultan Nazrin as exco members, despite the party being part of the state Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.
Out of the five excos that took their oath of office under Menteri Besar Saarani’s administration, four were Umno members and one was from Bersatu.
The Vibes had reported that, when Hadi realised that his assemblymen had been left out of the exco, he had made overtures to the palace seeking an audience.
Razman had, at the time, been confident that he and his colleagues would not be excluded from the exco in the new administration.
Annuar, meanwhile, had said that, while it was true that the menteri besar has the right to propose his exco candidates, those candidates must obtain the sultan’s consent.
“The menteri besar can propose his candidates but it is the sultan who approves it. Once the sultan has given his consent, they can then take their oath of office and be sworn in before the sultan. Only then are they considered to have been officially appointed as exco members,” Annuar said. – The Vibes, December 14, 2020
