IPOH: Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu
(pic) failed to obtain the majority support of the state assemblymen in the motion of vote of confidence on the Menteri Besar at the State Assembly sitting Friday.
Ahmad Faizal, who is Chenderiang assemblyman, received the votes of support from 10 assemblymen, while 48 others voted against him, and one abstained.
The motion was moved by Pengkalan Baru assemblyman Datuk Abd Manap Hashim of Barisan Nasional (BN) .
The Perak State Assembly comprises 25 Umno assemblymen, DAP (16), Bersatu (5), Amanah (5), PKR (3), PAS (3), and one each from Gerakan and Independent.
The result of the vote, which was done by written ballots, was announced by Speaker Datuk Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid.
Abd Manap said he moved the motion of vote of confidence to prove that Ahmad Faizal still has the confidence and majority support of the State Assembly to lead the state government as Perak Menteri Besar.
He said it was often alleged that the federal and state governments were a “back door government” and one way to refute the allegation is by holding a general or state election, which is quite unsuitable while the country is still struggling to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said although Ahmad Faizal’s appointment as Menteri Besar was constitutional, “the other way the support for the Perak MB’s leadership can be verified is through this Assembly”.
“The largest party (Umno) aligning to Perikatan Nasional in Perak seems to have issues with the Menteri Besar. So this is the best way to solve it...and verify whether or not the Chenderiang assemblyman still has the majority support of the State Assembly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Faizal who stood up after the result was announced, said that he accepted the decision and promised to ensure a proper transition of power in the state.
Ahmad Faizal, who was first appointed as Menteri Besar in May 2018, also thanked the people and fellow assemblymen including those in Pakatan Harapan as well as all state executive councillor for the cooperation given to him and said that he hoped all programmes that would benefit the people would continue to be implemented.
“It was an honour for me to serve the state and I would also like to express my gratitude to the Sultan of Perak for the opportunity given to me to serve His Majesty. Thank you,” he said.
Earlier, Salbiah Mohamed (BN-Temengor) and Howard Lee Chuan How (PH-Pasir Pinji) asked for the motion to be debated before the tabling of any other motions including that of the state’s Supply Bill 2021 scheduled for today
Salbiah and Lee agreed that the Assembly had to prove that the Menteri Besar had the majority support of the Assembly in order to erase all doubts against the state government.
In PETALING JAYA, former prime minister Najib Razak said the sale of a Perak-owned oil palm plantation was one of the reasons Ahmad Faizal lost the vote of confidence.
He said apart from the appointment of an Umno assemblyman as Faizal’s political secretary without consulting the party’s leadership, another reason was because of the state’s sale of PT Pinang Witmas Sejati in Palembang, Indonesia, to a Singapore company for one-third of its value.
Najib said the late Slim assemblyman Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, who formerly chaired the state-backed company holding the majority of PT Pinang Witmas Sejati’s shares, warned against selling the firm just because oil palm prices were low – but it was a call that was unheeded.
“Last year, the late assemblyman said the plantation was valued at RM1.03 billion and the state reaped RM40 million in profit from it every year before the change of government during the 14th general election,” said Najib on Facebook.
“After the 14th general election, the chairman’s post was changed to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Perak menteri besar.
“However, after the PH Perak government collapsed and the PH Perak menteri besar became the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Perak menteri besar, the sale continued under the PN state government even though the price of palm oil now reached RM3,400 a tonne compared with RM1,800 to RM2,000 last year.
“The sale price announced in April after the PN Perak government took over was RM342 million while the total value of the estate was RM1.03 billion according to the previous chairman, or only 35pc of the original price,” claimed Najib.
In April, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) said it would buy a 60pc stake in PT Pinang Witmas Sejati for RM341.55 million through its Singapore-based unit Taiko Plantations Pte Ltd.
The shares were previously held by Ladang Lekir Sdn Bhd (LLSB), a subsidiary of the Perak State Agricultural Development Corporation (SADC).
SADC last month denied there were elements of abuse of power or corruption in LLSB’s disposal of its 60pc stake in PT Pinang Witmas Sejati and that this was what had contributed to its low sale price. It said such claims were unfounded and malicious.
On Oct 19, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia’s (Putra) Perak chairman Hamidah Osman urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the issue of the sale, alleging that abuses of power and corruption lowered PT Pinang Witmas Sejati’s selling price.
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