Answer in 48 hours after royal chiding in MB conundrum

Royally rebuked for sending up only one name for the Selangor palace to consider in the choice of the next mentri besar, PKR said tonight it will reply to the Selangor palace’s order to add two more candidates within the next 48 hours.

Party’s secretary general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said PKR “will announce and explain” its next move once it is finalised.

“We have taken appropriate measures, which we will disclose later,” he told reporters after a political bureau meeting at his party’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

“We will act accordingly,” he said, when pressed on the issue.
Malay Mail Online was able to obtain an audio recording of the impromptu news conference.

News portal Malaysiakini reported earlier today the Selangor ruler had chastised PKR for failing to submit more than two names for the state’s mentri besar’s post, as ordered.

Citing an anonymous party insider, the news portal reported the palace acknowledged PKR’s nomination of its president, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, but insisted the party offer two more names.

Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had last week ordered the three Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties — DAP, PKR and PAS — to each send in at least three names for him to consider for the state government’s top post, by September 3.

The DAP and PKR were steadfast in their decision to nominate only Dr Wan Azizah for the post.

But PAS, in defiance of a PR presidential council decision on August 17, sent in three names yesterday.

Saifuddin said the party had contemplated on PAS’ nominees but no decisions have been made.

“Mustafa said two PKR and one PAS representative were named. We discussed the scenario… but even then we don’t know who their nominees from PKR were,” he, referring to his PAS counterpart, Datuk Mustafa Ali.

Mustafa told Malay paper, Harakah Daily today that the Islamist party had submitted three names, two state lawmakers from PKR and one PAS assemblyman. He however, refused to divulge their identities.

-Malaysia digest