KUANTAN: State Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob is seen as the most suitable candidate to be appointed as Menteri Besar following the latest political development in the country where the federal government is now led by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Adnan not only proved his capability to lead BN to victory in the 14th General Election (GE14) when most of the others states had fallen to PH but the 68-year-old also enjoys a good relationship with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Sources said the strong relationship between the two was important to ensure a continuous and smooth development in Pahang.
It was also Dr Mahathir who appointed Adnan as the Pahang Menteri Besar to replace Tun Khalil Yaakob in 1999.
“The political landscape has changed as the federal government is now administered by PH and no longer BN, so electing a Menteri Besar who is not from the same party will be vital.... it will be quite difficult if a new person is appointed and does not enjoy a good relationship with Dr Mahathir.
"We are aware that Adnan has never spoken negatively about Dr Mahathir and expressed his appreciation to him for appointing him to the post of Menteri Besar in 1999. It might be easy for him to deal with the Federal Government led by PH,” a source told NSTP today.
On Saturday, the Regent of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah postponed the Pahang Menteri Besar swearing-in ceremony at Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan.
The ruler told reporters the postponement was because he needed time to get to know all the elected representatives.
Adnan who won the Pelangai state seat for the eighth consecutive term is expected to be reinstated as Menteri Besar for the fifth term and will become the longest serving Menteri Besar - 19 years.
In GE14, BN won 25 state seats to obtain a simple majority to form the state government while PH and PAS each won nine and eight seats respectively.
Meanwhile, the source said there are no issues about changing the state government from BN to PH or PAS due to the huge difference in the number of assemblymen.
“BN has 25 seats and if PH and PAS decide to join they will only have 17 seats, Pahang is different from states that secured a slim majority like Perak.
“There is no reports on BN elected representatives here switching camps to PH and PAS, if there are plans to change the government it has to involve a large number of elected representatives,” said the source.
Besides Adnan, Lanchang assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin who is also the state Umno liaison committee deputy chairman is another likely contender for the Menteri Besar post.