“As far as we know, Faizal is still the MB,” he said when asked about reports of attempts to topple him.

Opposition leader Saarani Mohamad was reported as saying that there is a movement in the state executive council to remove Faizal.

It was said that this was due to dissatisfaction among the state executive councillors against the menteri besar.

Saarani was reported as saying that he predicted a repeat of the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis if the Sultan of Perak finds it necessary to dissolve the state assembly due to “problems” among Pakatan Harapan leaders.

Bagan Serai MP joins PPBM

During the press conference, it was announced that independent candidate Bagan Serai MP Noor Azmi Ghazali had joined PPBM.

Besides Azmi, four senators also joined PPBM today. They are Khairudin ES Abdul Samad, Aknan Ehtook, Suhaimi Abdullah and Isa Abdul Hamid.

Mahathir said he had accepted them into the party on the condition that those joining would not be able to hold any position in the party for a year.

He hoped MPs accepted to the party would be able to help the government focus on what was promised to the people before the general election and also to help in getting bills in Parliament passed which would need a two-thirds majority.

Azmi thanked the PPBM leadership for accepting his application.

“Today is also my birthday. After being an independent candidate for five months, I made the decision to join PPBM.

“I have made a commitment to PPBM to make several policies a reality,” he said.

Azmi had won the parliamentary seat on the BN ticket in the 14th general election with a 172-vote majority over his PAS rival, Rohaya Bakar.