Melaka state government will not replace Pakatan Harapan representatives who vacated posts after the coalition’s withdrawal from the Cabinet.
JASIN: The Melaka State Government will not fill the positions left vacant by Pakatan Harapan (PH) representatives following the coalition’s decision to withdraw from the state Cabinet, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said.
He said all posts held by PH representatives, including as state executive council (Exco) members, local authority councillors and Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) members, had been automatically vacated and would remain unfilled as only a short period remained in the state’s current term.
“As reported by the media, the positions are automatically vacated. We will not make any new appointments because there’s not much time left to serve,” he told reporters after attending the Hari Exco Bersama Rakyat (HEBAT) programme in Merlimau today.
Ab Rauf said the state government respected Melaka PH’s decision to withdraw from the state government and had no intention of prolonging the dispute or allowing it to descend into personal attacks.
“That is their choice. If they have decided not to remain with the state government, we accept it with an open heart. We do not want this issue to become a platform for hostility or personal attacks. Differences of opinion are acceptable, but they should be expressed professionally and in a manner that is acceptable to the public,” he said.
Ab Rauf said the state administration had functioned well during nearly three years of cooperation with PH, but differing political positions had led the coalition to chart its own course.
On the possibility of cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), similar to developments in Negeri Sembilan, Ab Rauf said he had yet to see such an arrangement in Melaka but did not rule out the possibility of better understanding between the two parties in the state.
Yesterday, Melaka PH announced its final decision to withdraw from the state administration after rejecting amendments to the Melaka State Constitution Enactment to introduce appointed state assembly seats.
In a joint statement, Melaka PH chairman Adly Zahari, acting Melaka PKR chairman Adam Adli Abdul Halim, Melaka DAP chairman Khoo Poay Tiong and Melaka Amanah chairman Datuk Ashraf Mukhlis Minghat said the decision was endorsed at a meeting involving the coalition’s leadership and all its state assembly members yesterday.
