PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli is unperturbed by PAS’ refusal to allow its remaining 13 of 15 Selangor assemblypersons to sign a statutory declaration (SD) to back Dr Wan Azizah Wan Azizah as menteri besar.

 

Rafizi said that with 30 state representatives having inked the SDs, including two PAS assemblypersons, PKR president Wan Azizah has control over the 56-seat Selangor assembly.

 

"Kak Wan still has the clear majority, whether 30 or 43 (SDs). From the legal point of view, a majority is a majority," he told Malaysiakini after attending a forum in Klang yesterday.                                             

 

The Pandan MP stressed that "legally, it doesn't make much difference" if the 13 PAS assemblypersons do not provide written support for Wan Azizah.

 

He said yesterday’s decision by the PAS central committee not to sign the SDs did not reverse the earlier agreement reached by Pakatan Rakyat.

 

"At the Pakatan Rakyat level, even PAS agreed that we nominate one name. This (yesterday’s decision) does not overwrite that decision."

 

Pakatan parties had on Aug 17 agreed to nominate Wan Azizah as their sole choice as menteri besar after hours of inter-PAS and inter-Pakatan deliberations.

 

Azizah ‘owns’ the House

 

According to Rafizi, the Selangor sultan will have to recognise that Wan Azizah “owns” the majority in the state assembly and therefore she should be appointed as menteri besar.

 

"I am sure the sultan is aware of all this and I believe he will take this into account."

 

Rafizi declined to comment on whether PAS’ decision to let the sultan decide on the MB post is against the constitutional spirit that royalty should stay out of politics.

 

"The focus is to settle the MB issue," he said.

 

On another matter, asked wheteher PKR would hand the Kelantan state seat of Pengkalan Kubor to PAS to contest in the coming by-election, Rafizi said his party would discuss with PAS on the issue, but stressed that the main aim of both parties "is to defeat Umno".

 

While acknowledging that winning the seat was an important factor in the selection of the candidate, which is PAS' argument in asking PKR to let go of the seat, Rafizi also pointed out that the Pakatan position is that the party chosen to contest in a seat previously will continue to do so.

Selangor crisis today

11.50am: Fearing snap polls, DAP reveals that it discussed the possibility of a Pakatan break up in an emergency meeting last night.

2.39pm: Selangor sultan has an audience with Khalid.

3.33pm: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s office denies that he had offered PKR deputy president Azmin Ali the MB post if Azmin backs a PAS-Umno unity government.

4.42pm: Palace accepts Khalid resignation as MB, pending appointment of a replacement. The ruler also asks for more than two MB nominees each from each Pakatan party.

5.57pm: Selangor PAS says sultan’s decree for multiple candidates in in line with Abdul Hadi’s view.  

10.29pm: PKR and DAP say they will only submit Wan Azizah’s name as in 2013, the palace sought four names and was given only one.