IPOH: Kota Tampan assemblyman Datuk Saarani Mohamad has been appointed the 14th Perak menteri besar.
Comptroller of the Royal Household, Colonel (Rtd) Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohamad Nor said the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, had consented to the appointment as Saarani commanded the majority support of state assemblymen.
"The Sultan has set 11am tomorrow for the swearing-in ceremony, which will be held at Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar," he said in a statement.
Saarani obtained the support of 35 assemblymen in the 59-seat state legislative assembly, thus obtaining a simple majority.
The support comes from representatives of Umno (25), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (five), Pas (three), Gerakan (one) and one independent elected repres entative.
These numbers also meant that Perak would remain a Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led state government.
The outcome came a day after the political crisis reached a stalemate when Umno failed to demonstrate that it had enough support to command a simple majority for its choice of menteri besar.
However, the issue was resolved when a joint statement was released by Barisan Nasional, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Pas, which expressed the PN coalition's support for Saarani to become the menteri besar.
In the joint statement, BN chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi apologised on behalf of the Perak BN, following the ouster of Perak Bersatu chairm an Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu as menteri besar.
"The three parties have agreed to strengthen cooperation within the Perak PN coalition, as well as at the national level, for the sake of economic stability and the p eople's welfare," the statement said.
Perak has been without a leader since Saturday when Faizal, who is Chenderiang assemblyman, announced his resignation a day after losing a confidence vote at the state legislative assembly.
At that time, there were 48 assemblymen who voted against him, as opposed to 10 who voted for him, with one assemblyman abstaining from voting.
The motion was tabled by Pengkalan Baru assemblyman Datuk Abdul Manaf Hashim and supported by BN's Temenggor assemblyman Salbiah Mohamad and DAP's Pasir Pinji assemblyman Howard Lee Chuan How.