I'm no traitor, real treachery committed by Harapan excos - Perak MB

Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu has denied being a traitor for switching sides to Perikatan Nasional which resulted in the downfall of the Pakatan Harapan administration in the state.

Instead, Faizal claimed the real treachery was committed by Harapan state excos who were allegedly out to sabotage the menteri besar and state government.

"I was branded as a traitor to the people... We did not forget about those who sat in the exco chairs, they did not carry out the people's mandate, but instead busy to bring down the menteri besar and their own state government.

"The treachery started there...," said Faizal in a press conference in Ipoh today.

"We have thought about this, the (Perikatan Nasional) coalition will serve the rakyat better and make a more stable government," he said.

Last December, the alleged attempt to topple the Perak state government and Faizal, first raised by state opposition chief Saarani Mohamad, was brought to the Harapan presidential council.

Saarani had during a state assembly sitting revealed that the alleged attempt was linked to Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson Abdul Aziz Bari.

At the time, Faizal however reportedly said he did not believe the claims linked to Aziz, and had expressed confidence there were no parties within Harapan out to topple the state government.

Meanwhile, Faizal said changes in Perak today are in line with changes in national politics, with the exit of Bersatu from Harapan.

"... of course Bersatu in Perak will take the same stand as Bersatu at federal level. In Perak, we realise that the Harapan government led by me did not provide true stability," he said.

Perak Harapan in a statement had condemned Faizal's move, labelling him as a traitor to the people's mandate.

While Perak Harapan in its statement said their remaining 27 assemblypersons will stand together and demand a special state-assembly session to be called soon, three other Harapan representatives similarly announced their departure to be independents.

Two of the defectors - Paul Yong (Tronoh assemblyperson) and A Sivasubramaniam (Buntong) - were from DAP, while Hasnul Zulkarnain Abd Munaim (Titi Serong) was from Amanah.