PERAK Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu has lost control of his state government after appointing six Umno representatives to the state exco, said state opposition leader Abdul Aziz Bari.

Aziz, DAP assemblyman for Tebing Tinggi, said Faizal’s party Bersatu was being sidelined in the state.

“In other words, Umno is now dominant in the state exco, and it can reject decisions made by the menteri besar, who is now clearly in the minority,” he said in a statement today.

“Under parliamentary democracy, the six Umno exco members can vote to reject the menteri besar’s decisions,” he said.

Faizal announced on March 9 that Bersatu, Umno and PAS had agreed to join forces to form a new state government.

Yesterday, he announced his new exco line-up, consisting of six assemblymen from Umno, two from Bersatu and a further two from PAS.

The ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition holds 32 seats in the Perak state legislative assembly. Of these, 25 are held by Umno, four by Bersatu and three by PAS.

Opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, meanwhile, holds 26 seats: 18 by DAP, four by Amanah and two by PKR.

“This is the political reality after PN took power in the state without the people’s mandate,” said Aziz, adding that the same situation was happening at local council level in the state with Umno taking the majority of the positions.

“This imbalance will eventually threaten the menteri besar’s position because Faizal will lose his post without the support of Umno.”

Aziz was previously an exco member under the PH administration, which was also led by Faizal. Then, the exco consisted of five members from DAP, three from Amanah, two from PKR and one from Bersatu. – May 13, 2020.