IPOH: Perak Umno has named its chairman, Datuk Saarani Mohamad, as its candidate to be the 14th Perak Menteri Besar.
This was revealed by Rungkup assemblyman, Datuk Shahrul Zaman Yahya, who posted the news on his Facebook page.
"All in Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) consensually nominated Datuk Saarani as Perak Menteri Besar," he said.
Shahrul said he urges the public not to speculate on the matter and allow the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, to make his decision on the vacant Perak Menteri Besar post.
"The Sultan will consider who will be the Menteri Besar after one of the assemblymen secures a simple majority, God willing," he said.
Earlier, a Perak Umno source said 26 assemblymen had signed statutory declarations (SDs) supporting Saarani to become Menteri Besar.
The Perak State Assembly comprises 25 Umno assemblymen, DAP (16), Bersatu (5), Parti Amanah Negara (5), PKR (3), Pas (3), Gerakan (1) and Independent (1).
It is learnt that Umno Perak also managed to convince an assemblyman from Parti Bersatu Pribumi Malaysia (Bersatu) to sign an SD.
Shahrul added that his parents always told him to uphold the principle of 'redha' (acceptance) and to trust in Allah.
"We must believe in qada' and qadar' (fate and destiny). Everything has been written. Position is a responsibility.
"We need to go back to basics. We are here to serve the rakyat, in any capacity that we have," he said.
Yesterday, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party will be submitting the names of Menteri Besar candidates to Sultan Nazrin as soon as possible.