SHAH ALAM: With two weeks to until the new Selangor Menteri Besar is sworn in, PKR’s Dr Idris Ahmad has emerged as the candidate most likely to fill the position.
The Malaysian Insight, in a report, said the Ijok state assemblyman was named as the proposed candidate for the Menteri Besar position by PKR president, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in her letter to the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, on Monday.
The report, quoting a source within the Pakatan Harapan leadership, said according to the letter, Idris’ candidacy has the support of all PH state leaders including Selangor Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) chairman Izham Hashim;
state Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari; and Selangor DAP chairman Tony Pua.
“The letter was received by the Sultan at 2.30pm on Monday,” a source was quoted as saying.
The Selangor palace had previously said that the official swearing-in ceremony for the new Menteri Besar would take place on June 19 at the Istana Alam Shah, Klang, four days after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is still the MB, had previously hinted that his successor might not be from the ready exco lineup.
Dr Idris , 71, is an Australia-trained obstetrician and gynaecologist. He began practicing in 1973 at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and became a lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Faculty before switching to the private sector in 1979 until present.
He became involved with PKR since the early days of its establishment before joining the party in 1999. He soon became the Segambut PKR branch leader.
Dr Idris, who has family in Ijok, was selected as PKR’s candidate in the 13th General Election after Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim moved constituencies to Port Klang.
Dr Idris once again held on to the Ijok seat in GE14, defeating candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN) K Parthiban; Pas (Jefri Mejan) and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (T Kumaran).