‘Perak crisis solved after Zahid, Abdul Hadi referred to me', caretaker MB jibes in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR: Amid the ongoing Perak political impasse, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu (PN-Tambun) dropped a hint in the Dewan Rakyat that perhaps the state leadership crisis could see a solution soon.

“After I was referred to by Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, the Perak political crisis has already been solved!” Faizal (pic) jibed in Parliament Wednesday (Dec 9).

The caretaker Mentri Besar was seated next to Zahid and Abdul Hadi, and the two party presidents sported wide grins in response to Faizal’s jab.

Faizal, who’s known for his jovial attitude, said this prior to his speech on the Housing and Local Government Ministry allocations under Budget 2021 at the committee stage debates.

In response, MPs from the ruling coalition cheered “Steady Peja!"

Faizal is fondly known as “Peja” in Perak.

On Facebook, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong praised Faizal for being a gentleman and magnanimous over the Perak political crisis.

“I respect ‘YB Peja’ for his speech on Wednesday and also his last speech as Perak Mentri Besar in the state assembly previously.

“YB Peja is indeed a leader who’s magnanimous and a ‘gentleman’, ” Dr Wee said in a Facebook post Wednesday.

Perak is currently under the spotlight after Umno and Pakatan Harapan assemblymen voted against Faizal as mentri besar in a confidence motion tabled in the Perak state assembly last Friday (Dec 4).

On Monday (Dec 7), Umno indicated its willingness to remain in the state Perikatan Nasional coalition that consists of PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), despite previously declaring that it is open to cooperating with Pakatan to form the next state government.

However, questions were raised on whether the state Perikatan coalition would continue cooperating with Umno after its assemblymen collaborated with Pakatan assemblymen to take down Bersatu’s Faizal as mentri besar.

Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan told reporters in the Parliament that the Perak leadership crisis is expected to be resolved by Wednesday (Dec 9), saying that discussions between Umno, PAS and Bersatu are still ongoing.

In the 59-seat state assembly, Umno has 25 seats, Bersatu five, PAS three, Gerakan one and an Independent another.

The Opposition has 24 seats: DAP (16), PKR (three) and Parti Amanah Negara (five).