Perlis exco reshuffle fixed a past error - Muhyiddin
INTERVIEW | Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said the Perlis exco reshuffle yesterday was a means of correcting an error.
He said that during the first reshuffle last year, Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli - who is from PAS - had made appointments from Bersatu without consulting the party.
However, in an interview with Malaysiakini at his office in Kuala Lumpur...
INTERVIEW | Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said the Perlis exco reshuffle yesterday was a means of correcting an error.
He said that during the first reshuffle last year, Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli - who is from PAS - had made appointments from Bersatu without consulting the party.
However, in an interview with Malaysiakini at his office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday – just hours after the latest reshuffle – Muhyiddin said Shukri had adopted a different approach this year.
“The menteri besar sent a reshuffle letter a few days ago, asking for names (for exco appointments).
“This is different from before (when he) acted on his own. Reshuffling is his right, (but this time) it was with consultation,” said Muhyiddin.
Changing things up
The Perlis menteri besar yesterday dropped Bersatu assemblypersons Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak (Tambun Tulang) and Megat Hashirat Hassan (Pauh) as state exco members.
They were replaced by other Bersatu assemblypersons, Abu Bakar Hamzah (Kuala Perlis), who is also the Perlis Bersatu chairperson, and Marzita Mansor (Sena).
PAS also added one more exco member, appointing Mohd Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji), bringing the total number of state cabinet members, including the menteri besar, to nine.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Wan Zikri said he was told by Shukri that the move was a political one.
However, Muhyiddin revealed during the interview that the proposal to replace the two Bersatu exco members actually came from Bersatu itself.
Muhyiddin, a former prime minister and Pagoh MP, explained that this year’s exco selection was based on seniority within the party.
He said Abu Bakar was appointed due to his position as the state Bersatu chairperson, while Marzita was selected as the state women’s wing chief.
“I’ve said this before, Abu Bakar is the Perlis Bersatu chief, so why wasn’t he (appointed)?
“This has now been corrected,” said Muhyiddin.
Necessary changes
Regarding Marzita, Muhyiddin noted that she received the highest votes in the recent Bersatu central women’s wing committee election.
“That’s why the two (previous exco members) were dropped. That’s normal.
“It’s not because they (the ones dropped) did something wrong. Not at all,” the Bersatu president said.
Titi Tinggi assemblyperson Izizam Ibrahim was retained due to his position as the second-highest-ranking leader in Perlis Bersatu.
Muhyiddin explained that the changes were necessary because Perlis implements annual state reshuffles.
Muhyiddin disclosed that he had also proposed Abu Bakar be appointed as senior exco and that the total number of exco members be increased by two – one from PAS and one from Bersatu.
However, he said only the first proposal was accepted.
For the second proposal, the menteri besar added only one exco member from PAS.
“Well, that’s okay,” he said, declining to prolong the issue.
When asked why those dropped were informed at the last minute, Muhyiddin said he himself was only notified recently.
“That’s because we were also informed just a few days ago.
“The reshuffle isn’t because they did anything wrong, but it’s their turn,” he reiterated.
