Motion of confidence to be tabled at meet

Speaker accepts Umno assemblyman’s move to support Perak MB

IPOH: The Perak state assembly will sit starting Friday but some eyebrows are already raised following the submission of a motion of confidence in Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

The motion by Umno assemblyman Datuk Abdul Manaf Hashim has been accepted by the state Speaker’s office as it had fulfilled all criteria but Perak opposition leader Dr Abdul Aziz Bari of DAP described it as “odd” for Umno to want to do so.

State assembly Speaker Datuk Mohamad Zahir Abdul Khalid, when contacted, said: “Our office is not biased against anybody.

“As long as a motion is submitted to us accordingly, we will accept it to be tabled during the assembly.”

He said it was filed as a “personal motion.” The state assembly, which will sit until Dec 11, will begin with the tabling of the state Budget.

“After that, the motion of confidence will be tabled,” he said.

During a press conference earlier yesterday, Mohamad Zahir said the motion was submitted by Abdul Manaf, who is the Pengkalan Baru representative.

“There is nothing bizarre about a motion of confidence, therefore it will be tabled during the meeting,” he said.

When contacted, Perak Umno chairman Datuk Saarani Mohamad declined to say much.

“I have no comment, only the Speaker has a say in it,” he said without elaborating further.

In October, Saarani had issued a statement criticising Faizal, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia deputy president, for not consulting him over the move to appoint Umno assemblyman Datuk Aznel Ibrahim as his (Faizal’s) political secretary.

He said that he was well aware that it was the Mentri Besar’s prerogative to do so but Aznel is someone from Umno.

Subsequently, Saarani said: “There is no issue between Umno and Bersatu. We formed a government in harmony, but we need to criticise each other if there are mistakes and to rectify it.”

The 59-seat Perak assembly includes, among others, representatives from Umno (25), Bersatu (five) and PAS (three).

Yesterday, Dr Abdul Aziz said that the motion of confidence was odd because “it is clear that Saarani has voiced his opinion about Faizal, so why does Umno still want to show support towards him (Faizal)?”