'There is a movement to topple the state government' - Saarani

IPOH - Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad admitted that there is a movement among certain parties to topple the Perak state government.

According to him, based on some information obtained, the movement is trying to persuade at least four assemblymen of the government to support the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) in order to obtain a simple majority.

"As far as we know, there is a movement, and they do not only issue press releases; there really is a movement. It seems that they are not satisfied with the results of the state polls because they expected that if PN could seize the six states, it would mean that they wanted to portray a new wave of the people's rejection of the Unity Government, but it did not happen.

"That is why we met up altogether because we do not want any of these 33 assemblymen to be suspicious of each other because they are loyal to the Unity Government," he told reporters after a meeting with the Perak Unity Government assemblymen at a hotel on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Saarani said that all the government assemblymen unanimously expressed their commitment to stand firm and defend stability in the government.

According to him, continuing to play on sentiments and political polemics will not bring any benefit to the people or the state and may even undermine the trust of investors, thus inviting risks to the development of the state, which is rapidly developing.

"If all parties, including the opposition, are sincere about seeing stability continue to exist to guarantee investors' confidence and the state's development continuity, then it needs to be translated into a desire to ensure that all the good plans that are being implemented can be equally successful for the benefit of the people.

"In this context, it must also be emphasised that actions that create evil perceptions, including slandering, such that Islam and the Malays in this state are on the brink of destruction should be stopped because the reality is that the government leadership is collectively committed to defending the authority of the Perak Darul Ridzuan Constitution," he said.

At the meeting, a total of four government assemblymen were absent due to work matters, namely Kepayang assemblyman Nga Kor Ming, Sungai Rapat assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, Jalong assemblyman Loh Sze Yee, and Hulu Kinta assemblyman Muhamad Arafat Varisai Mahamad.

Also present at the meeting was Perak state assembly Speaker Datuk Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid.