Perak BN mulls introducing appointed reps in state assembly

GE15 | Perak BN has announced plans to introduce nominated representatives to become state legislators by appointment instead of being voted into office.

Should the coalition recapture the state, Perak BN chairperson Saarani Mohamad said it pledges to amend the state constitution enactment so it can appoint assemblypersons from minority groups as well as from among the youth.

As part of its state manifesto, Saarani explained that the amendment is among Perak BN’s efforts to ensure political stability in the silver state.

“This is like the amendments made to the state constitution enactment in Sabah where the party that succeeds in forming the state government has the right to appoint six more assemblypersons without going through the election process,” he told reporters after unveiling the manifesto at Taman Permai Meru, Perak last night.

“The six representatives would make the ruling government a strong one. If there is any voting process in the state assembly, there will be enough votes to pass any sort of legislation.

“So, we can see that Sabah (state government) is more stable and there’s no change in government. And recently, we have seen the Pahang state government follow suit,” he added.

However, Saarani said the matter would need to be debated and passed in the state assembly by obtaining at least two-thirds of the votes from the representatives.

“They won’t be representatives in any state seats as it is on an appointment basis.

“On the federal level, it’s known as senators,” he said, adding that BN had yet to finalise the number of appointed assemblypersons to be proposed.

While unveiling the state manifesto, the menteri besar also said a youth would be appointed as adviser to the menteri besar.

“There are 1.1 million youths aged between 15 and 40, which is almost half of Perak's population of 2.6 million people.

"As such, Perak's youth empowerment agenda will be intensified through specific programmes covering social, economic and leadership aspects,” he added.

Ayor or ayaq? GE15 not a joke

Saarani stressed that the general election is no joking matter and should not be taken lightly.

Without naming any parties, he brought up Perikatan Nasional (PN) deputy chairperson Ahmad Faizal Azumu’s recent famous tagline “ayor bukan ayaq”, which refers to two dialects for the Malay word air which means water.

Saarani emphasised that BN’s manifesto would not speak of that phrase.

“It’s not just ayaq or ayor. This is a sensitive matter to me because I have gone on the ground and seen how difficult the people’s lives have been.

“What is important for the people is that they have food, job opportunities, a roof over their heads and an opportunity to live a prosperous life.

“We are serious when it comes to the election,” he said.

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