Friday 21 March 2008

Sultan wants S'gor exco line-up resolved...


...the horse-trading and apparent bickering among the political parties who will make up the new Selangor government are cause for concern for the Sultan of Selangor.

While he has to remain apolitical, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has, over the last two weeks, found himself having to play arbitrator to the coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS in resolving the executive council line-up as well as the position of deputy mentri besar, the Sun reports.

It is a difficult task for the ruler, as while giving advice, he cannot be seen to be interferring, according to a palace aide.

The aide said the Sultan was worried about the state of affairs of the state and wants the matter to be resolved soon and that his primary and only concern is that of the rakyat.

They should be served and not be affected by any internal conflicts among the political parties, the palace aide said on Thursday.

The swearing-in of the executive councillors has yet to take place as the coalition of Barisan Rakyat has yet to resolve over who gets what, and how many.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is expected to present the final list by today, with the swearing-in to be held on Monday.

The aide stressed that while the Sultan remains apolitical, it is the ruler’s right to express concern or apprehension and offer suggestions.

“That does not mean they (the political parties) have to take the advice,” he said, referring to a newspaper report on Thursday that seemed to indicate that the Sultan had insisted that the 10-man exco line-up should have a Malay majority.

He said a 5-5 formula was bandied around during the discussion, but Sultan Sharafuddin reminded Khalid that should there be a deadlock, the mentri besar has the deciding vote.

He said it was the ruler’s opinion that the exco line-up should represent the demographics of the electorate.“Tuanku will never titah (decree). He will advise. That’s all,” said the aide.

1 comment:

warrior2 said...

Aiya, Even the PM didnt take this long to appoint his cabinet and we are talking about 14 coalition partners. And yet in Selangor, 3 days after the new federal cabinet was sworn in, we still dont have the state exco and this involves ONLY 3 PARTIES.

WHOEVER is incharge, go to work. Celebration time is long over my man!