Nation

Speculation over Melaka CM change heating up again

MELAKA: The position of Melaka chief minister is again a hotly discussed topic following claims that the post will see a change of hands next month.

Speculation on the matter cropped up again last week during the State Legislative Assembly, after a voice note claiming that a movement led by a state Umno leader to topple the current Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali, went viral.

The unidentified individual claimed that a secret movement involving several state Umno leaders and the Masjid Tanah party division were seeking to push state Umno Liaison Body chairman and exco for Investment, Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, to replace Sulaiman.

Ab Rauf, who is state Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman, declined to comment on the matter.

"Tak payah (no need to comment), when I am here, no more politics okay, no politics," he said when visiting a factory in Batu Berendam recently.

Sulaiman, who is on vacation, denied the speculation and rejected claims that he will resign as Melaka chief minister early next month as reported by a Chinese-language newspaper and several news portals yesterday.

"It's not true (the report)," he said this morning.

Yesterday, a Chinese-language newspaper reported that Sulaiman will step down to make way for Ab Rauf as the new chief minister, with the swearing-in ceremony to take place in front of Melaka Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam on Jan 3.

There were also claims that Sulaiman had submitted a resignation letter to Mohd Ali and Umno president and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, recently.

The media report also claimed that following the appointment of the new chief minister, there would be changes involving the state exco line-up, with three of them from the current line-up set to be dropped.

Since BN's big win in the state polls on Nov 20 last year, the political situation in the state has remained fluid with speculation rife that the chief minister will be replaced. However, the two leaders, Sulaiman and Ab Rauf, have repeatedly denied this.

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