Idris Haron: Umno will help oust Adly Zahari, but not to put Bersatu in charge

Malacca Umno assemblypersons are willing to work together with Bersatu to get rid of Chief Minister Adly Zahari, said state opposition leader Idris Haron.

However, Idris (above) said they would not support a move to put Bersatu in charge of the state.

"First things first: Nobody has come and approached me whatsoever, not for a 'backdoor' government, a no-confidence vote or anything. I have no information or proposals from anyone.

"But the BN assemblypersons said that (Mohd) Rafiq (Naizamohideen) wanted to meet... to which I asked, why?" the former Malacca chief minister told Malaysiakini.

According to Umno sources, Rafiq, who is a state exco member from Bersatu, had allegedly wanted to meet with all 13 Umno assemblypersons in the state.

However, this was scuttled after the Bersatu leader met with Malacca Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh first.

Rafiq has denied wanting to form a new government, and said any meetings he had with Umno were to discuss mutual cooperation on race, religion and country, and how to develop the state.

Idris, however, believed that the Rafiq is trying to get rid of Adly, who the Umno man categorised as a weak leader.

"I see that Adly is very weak and can't even manage his exco. His party (Amanah) only has two seats, so they are at the mercy of DAP (which has 8 seats).

"So to topple the current government, if there is an effort, Umno will support; but if it is to make Rafiq the chief minister I don't think so," he said.

He added that he pitied the people of Malacca, as their interests were being jeopardised by the state government who could not handle politics amicably.

Rafiq, who is formerly an Umno Youth exco member, had a falling out with Idris in the past.

In 2016, he was suspended from Umno for allegedly trying to sabotage Idris and then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, after having invited Dr Mahathir Mohamad to attend a dialogue in 2015.

Mahathir was still with Umno at the time. Both he and Rafiq are now in Bersatu, where Mahathir is the chairperson and Rafiq is a supreme council member.

Rafiq was among 14 Malacca Pakatan Harapan assemblypersons who signed a statement pledging support for Adly as chief minister yesterday.

Currently, Harapan has a simple majority to form the Malacca government by virtue of holding 15 seats in the 28-seat assembly.

A single defection from Harapan can result in a hung assembly.