At a press conference attended by Sulaiman and party division leaders, Rauf maintained that there was no move to unseat Sulaiman from his post.
“That’s why I called for this press conference, to state that we have no problem or turmoil. We are all working together to form a stable government. Every division leader, and myself as Melaka Umno chief, fully supports Sulaiman as chief minister,” he said.
His statement came hours after a press report that he had tried to lobby for the chief minister’s post. BN sources told FMT that the party was aware of Rauf’s unhappiness but that everything was under control.
At the press conference, Sulaiman also explained why he had been hastily sworn in as chief minister early this morning. He said he wanted to get on with his work as soon as possible. “There was nothing wrong with what happened this morning,” he said.
He listed his meetings scheduled for the coming days. One was the meeting of the Conference of Rulers (at which the governor is present, with the chief minister in attendance), meetings with all menteris besar and chief ministers, tabling the state’s budget at the state assembly this week, and finalising the state executive council line-up.
Sulaiman had received his letter of appointment and took his oath of office for a second term as chief minister just hours after BN swept to victory in the Melaka state elections.
A press report earlier had speculated that Rauf had tried to lobby top party leaders, including Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and BN adviser Najib Razak, for the Melaka chief minister’s post.
He had been noticeably absent when Sulaiman was sworn in and told The Star that it was up to the party to explain why he was absent.
BN sources told FMT that the coalition was aware of Rauf’s unhappiness but said “everything is under control”. One party source said there was no threat at all to the new government with all BN elected representatives committed to ensuring political stability in the state.
BN stormed to a landslide win at the Melaka polls yesterday, winning a two-thirds majority with 21 of the 28 seats in the state assembly.
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