Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Looks like Manoharan have to wait a bit longer! They could probably try changing the constitution later to follow Penang
Only one deputy MB for Selangor
By DHARMENDER SINGH
SHAH ALAM: Speculation over the possible appointment of two deputies mentri besar for Selangor came to an end Wednesday after the Selangor Sultan’s private secretary Datuk Lela Bakti Datuk Muhammad Munir Bani said the Formation of Selangor Government Laws 1959 allow only one.
Muhammad Munir said the laws stated that the mentri besar had to be appointed and sworn in first and the deputy as well as the state executive councillors (excos) would be appointed later following discussions on the list between the Sultan and the mentri besar.
He said although the laws clearly stipulated that the mentri besar had to be a Malay and a Muslim it was silent on the background of the deputy so one of a different race or religion could be appointed. He said the appointment of both the deputy and the excos also had to receive the consent of the Sultan just like the appointment of the mentri besar himself.
“According to the Formation of Selangor Government Laws, the appointment of the mentri besar is the sole prerogative of the Sultan and the candidate will have to be someone who has the trust of a majority of the elected state assemblymen,” he told reporters Wednesday during a joint press conference with State Secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud at the state secretariat building here.
Muhammad Munir said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had met with representatives from PKR, DAP and PAS to personally verify their decision to form a joint state government. “The Sultan has given his consent to the formation of a joint state government by PKR, DAP and PAS and will appoint a suitable candidate to become the next mentri besar soon, followed by a swearing-in ceremony that will be held at the Bukit Kayangan palace,” he said.
He said there was no decision on who will be the new mentri besar yet but believed that an announcement would be made by the end of this week. On when the deputy mentri besar and excos will be appointed, he said no date had been set but it was usually within three to four days after the mentri besar was sworn in.
