No audience until Melaka governor ends quarantine, says aide

Representatives from political parties will not be able to have an audience with Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Mohd Ali Rustam until this Thursday, the governor’s special secretary Nur Azmi Ahmad says.

He said this was because Ali had been in self-quarantine since Sept 30 after coming into close contact with Covid-19 positive individuals, and the quarantine period would end by then.

“The date for an audience will depend on him when he comes into office.

“If he comes in on Friday, he will probably decide to have a meeting that day. It all depends on him,” Nur Azmi told Bernama when contacted today.

Nur Azmi also confirmed that he had received a letter from Melaka Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Adly Zahari yesterday, seeking an audience with Ali to discuss the political crisis in the state.

Yesterday, former Melaka chief minister Idris Haron (BN-Sungai Udang), Nor Azman Hassan (BN-Pantai Kundor), Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Independent-Pengkalan Batu) and Noor Effandi Ahmad (Bersatu-Telok Mas) declared that they were withdrawing their support for Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali, saying they had lost confidence in his leadership.

With this development, the state government has technically collapsed.

The Barisan Nasional-led Melaka government is represented by 17 assemblymen, comprising 14 from Umno, two from Bersatu and one BN-friendly independent, while the opposition has 11 seats: seven from DAP, and two each from PKR and Amanah, respectively.