Amirudin expected to remain Selangor MB

SHAH ALAM - There is no reason for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) or its newest coalition partner, Barisan Nasional (BN) to not reappoint PKR vice president Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as the Selangor Menteri Besar if the coalition wins in the coming state election.

A source close to the Selangor Menteri Besar said the speculation on the potential replacement of Amirudinwith International Trade and Industry Minister (Miti), Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz from BN, for the top administrative position in Selangor bears no solid foundation.

The source said this is because the Umno Supreme Council member is in busy managing a ministry portfolio considered important to the country aside from the status quo of electoral seat distribution formula expected to ensure that PH contests more seats than BN.

"Speculation that the Selangor Menteri Besar will be replaced by Zafrul is not true. The claim that BN wants to claim up to 17 state assembly seats from PH is also inaccurate.

"As Miti Minister, Zafrul is certainly busy managing his important ministry portfolio, especially at a time when the country is facing global economic uncertainties.

"After all, Datuk Seri Amirudin still has the status of Menteri Besar and was appointed as Selangor PH chairman to face the Selangor polls," said the source to Sinar.

On seat negotiation between BN-PH, the PKR source also denied the claim that Zafrul was eyeing to contest in the Sungai Kandis state seat held by Zawawi Ahmad Mughni.

The source insisted that the seat negotiation process between BN-PH representatives so far shows status quo distribution formula and it will be used as a guide with no change of state seats expected between the two coalitions.

"So far, seat negotiations have reached 80 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent involves overlapping seats that were previously held by representatives PH such as Bersatu, Pejuang and PBM," he added.

Meanwhile, Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharudin from Amanah also agreed that Amirudin was to be retained as Selangor Menteri Besar.

He added that Selangor has been PH's stronghold since GE12 in 2008 (then known as PKR) with the coalition maintaining its dominance to the present days.

"Given Selangor's history as a stronghold for the PH coalition, it is highly likely that both PH and BN will consider the status quo formula in their negotiations regarding the distribution of electoral seats. This formula ensures that the existing distribution, which has favored PH in the past, remains relatively unchanged.

"After all, by convention, the Selangor Sultan will choose the MB candidate from among the assemblymen who have the majority support from other assemblymen, so logically, with the dominance of PH seats in this state, the chance of the MB candidate being elected from PH is brighter," he said.