MELAKA: Word is going around that former Melaka chief minister Tan Sri Mohd Ali Rustam is tipped to be named the seventh Yang di-Pertua for the state.
Congratulatory messages for him have been flooding WhatsApp chat groups since Wednesday.
Mohd Ali, 70, was the chief minister from 1999 to 2013.
He contested in the Hang Tuah Jaya parliamentary constituency in the 2013 general election but was defeated by Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin of PKR.
An aide to Mohd Ali declined to confirm the Governor’s post although he said his boss’ name is “on the top of the list”.
He said the appointment would depend on the federal leadership although the state government had recommended Mohd Ali’s name.
It is also learnt that Mohd Ali’s name was recommended by Chief Minister Datuk Sulaiman Md Ali.
An insider said the tenure of the current Governor, Tun Dr Mohd Khalil Yaakob, would end next month and that preparations were being made to conduct an official ceremony to welcome the new governor.
