Perak state assembly switches to PM Muhyiddin's PN alliance, after Johor and Melaka
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IPOH (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government in northern Perak state has fallen, with the majority of lawmakers switching to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
Perak is the third state legislature to switch to PN, following Johor and Melaka in the political tumult that started two weeks ago.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Umno and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) have joined hands to form the new state government in the 59-seat state legislature.
The PN Perak government will be led by the same Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu from Bersatu, who has switched allegiance.
Datuk Seri Faizal said 32 assemblymen will now be aligned to PN. A minimum support from 30 lawmakers is needed to control the Perak legislature.
"People will say I am a traitor, but is an open secret that some who were sitting in the (PH) exco line-up had intentions to bring the MB down, " he told a news conference on Monday (March 9), referring to past speculation over his position.
According to figures, Umno has 25 assemblymen in Perak, PAS three and Bersatu two before the political tumult.
Bersatu on Monday has two more assemblymen, with the defection of independent lawmaker Nolee Ashilin Mohd Radzi, who has joined the party, along with an assemblyman from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Mr Abdul Yunus Jamahari.
This bring the total of PN assemblymen to 32.
PN will also be helped by three other defectors, all from PH. They have declared themselves independent assemblymen friendly to PN, as allowed under the Malaysian political system.
Two of the defectors are from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and one from Parti Amanah Negara. The DAP defectors are Mr Paul Yong Choo Kiong and Mr A. Sivasubraniam, while Amanah has lost its national youth chief, Mr Hasnul Zulkarnain Abdul Munaim, who opted to become a PN-friendly lawmaker.
Mr Yong told a news conference at his office of his stance: "We have thought this through a few days ago. And we decided to be independent for our voters.
"Looking at the formation of Perikatan Nasional, there is no representative from the Chinese or Indian community. That is why we decide to become independent."
Mr Yong said the decision was made to protect their voters as well as Perak residents in general.
"There is no issue of who is jumping or not. The situation in Perak is slightly different," he said. "We are giving our full support to Ahmad Faizal."
