Selection of MB mired in high drama

UNLIKE his predecessors, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali does not seem to have suffered any political calamity from helming the Selangor Mentri Besar position but has instead moved on to greener pastures as Economic Affairs Minister in the Federal Government.

He had led Pakatan Harapan to a stunning victory in Selangor and, on top of that, the new Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari is said to enjoy his personal endorsement.

It would have been the smoothest transition that Selangoreans had seen in decades – if not for the drama behind the scenes.

Amirudin had his first taste of this hot seat yesterday when some of the first questions he had to field as Mentri Besar concerned claims that he was not endorsed by all the Pakatan partners in the state.

There were also ironic SMSes congratulating PKR for appointing a Johor-born politician as Mentri Besar.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the other Mentri Besar candidate Dr Idris Ahmad was fielding a press conference alleging that he was the victim of dirty tricks.

The Ijok assemblyman was fending off allegations on the Internet a day earlier that he was involved in the misappropriation of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) funds in a college where he is a board director.

It was obviously aimed at smearing his reputation on the eve of the big day and he felt hurt and angry to be accused of corruption. It was also clear that he thinks supporters of Amirudin engineered the attack.

Moreover, according to political insiders, Dr Idris, a three-term assemblyman, had turned down an offer to fill the vacant state exco slot vacated by Amirudin.

The exco post was eventually offered to Batu Tiga assemblyman Rodziah Ismail, a close ally of the PKR president.

About a week before Amirudin was sworn in as the new Mentri Besar of Selangor, one of his friends had taken a picture with him and captioned it: With the MB-to-be.

By then, the delay over the Mentri Besar appointment had led to speculation over who would actually get the job.

He got the job but it is apparent by now that he does not have the full support of his own party or that of all the Pakatan partners.

His own party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and the chiefs of the DAP, Pribumi and Amanah had formally nominated Dr Idris for the post.

On the other hand, Azmin had nominated Amirudin, who is Sungai Tua assemblyman, and Seri Setia assemblyman Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin.

Azmin had a traumatic time coming into the job and this time, he wanted to be prepared and had reportedly secured the numbers for Amirudin even before nomination day. Party insiders claimed that Azmin managed to persuade 15 of the 21 PKR assemblymen to rally behind Amirudin.

Even then, nothing was for sure as the big day drew near and especially after Dr Idris, a highly successful gynaecologist, announced a week ago that his was the only name endorsed by the four Pakatan partners.

Dr Idris’s statement came after he and Amirudin had a private meeting with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of the a buka puasa gathering for PKR elected representatives at the One World Hotel.

Dr Idris had emerged from the meeting wearing a big smile and everyone thought he would be the chosen one.

But a week is a long time in politics and it is learnt that, for reasons of its own, Pribumi withdrew its endorsement of Dr Idris.

Overnight, Dr Idris was no longer the consensus candidate and he lost the edge that he had over the other candidates.

“It was quite logical for the palace to prefer Amirudin. He is a third-term assemblyman; he has been in the state exco for two terms. He is familiar with the state government whereas the other candidates are first-timers,” said Datuk Teng Chang Khim, a senior state exco member and the DAP assemblyman for Sungai Pinang.

Amirudin is only 38 and all his exco members are older than him.

But Teng pointed out that the new Mentri Besar is three years older than Dr Khir Toyo, who was an absolute greenhorn, when he stepped into the Mentri Besar office.

“When I was the state speaker, I used to look forward to Amirudin doing the winding up. He is not only an orator but he has the ability to piece together arguments and facts,” said Teng.

Amirudin’s English, some said, needs a lot of polishing but it is still better than that of Dr Khir when he became Mentri Besar.

It is no secret that there was intense lobbying to influence the palace’s choice, with corporate figures being used to whisper to the palace.

But the one with the most opportunity to whisper into the Sultan’s ears was none other than the outgoing Mentri Besar, who has built up an incredibly good working relationship with Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

The Sultan was said to be sad to see him go and had personally thanked him after the swearing-in ceremony.

The general opinion in Pakatan is that Azmin played a major role in paving the way for his political protege Amirudin.

The new Mentri Besar is not going to have an easy time. His situation has been compared to that of Azmin who came in from the cold, without the endorsement of his own party and amid strong objection from the DAP camp.

There were so many poisoned arrows aimed at Azmin but the political animal in him helped him survive. He is hard-working, took his job seriously and his good looks and cultured manner of talking made people warm up easily to him.

Azmin was seen not as a Malay Mentri Besar but a truly Malaysian Mentri Besar. His successor has big shoes to fill.