KANGAR: Perlis Bersatu is ready to shoulder the responsibility to lead the state government should any elected representative from the party is asked to do so following ongoing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probes into the state administration.
State Bersatu liaison committee chief Abu Bakar Hamzah said the party is leaving to the wisdom of the Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail and the national Perikatan Nasional (PN) leadership to decide on possible change in the state leadership.
"As for now, the position of the Menteri Besar is still unclear as he (Mohd Shukri Ramli) has just returned from Kuala Lumpur. Perhaps in the next couple of days we will get a clearer picture.
"However, should anything happen and being asked, we (Bersatu) are ready. It is up to His Majesty and the national PN leadership.
"PN chairman is also Bersatu president while the PN deputy chairman is from Pas. Thus, whether Bersatu will be asked to shoulder the responsibility or not, we will accept any decision by the PN leadership," he told reporters after attending the Kangar member of Parliament's Aidilfitri open house here yesterday evening.
The Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail graced the event.
Present at the event were Kangar MP Zakrie Hassan, Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim and PKR Indera Kayangan assemblyman Gan Ay Ling.
Abu Bakar, who is also Kuala Perlis assemblyman and state PN deputy chairman admitted that the MACC's probes into the alleged false claims and power abuse in the state government is a slap to PN.
"The recent development has sent a shockwave to everybody, we are leaving it to PN leadership to decide and we will accept any decision by the Perlis Ruler," he said.
Asked on the possibilities of PN retaining an assemblyman from Pas to replace Shukri as the Menteri Besar, Abu Bakar said the situation might not be the same as after the 15th General Election (GE15).
"It has been 15 months since the GE15, but the situation is not the same now. As I mentioned just now, we are leaving it to His Majesty to decide based on the Perlis State Constitution," added Abu Bakar.
On Tuesday, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that Shukri was arrested upon turning up at the graft buster's headquarters in Putrajaya and was released after spending eight hours having his statement recorded by the investigators.
It was learnt that Shukri, who is also the Perlis Pas commissioner is being investigated over abuse of power related to infrastructure development projects, including the repair, maintenance, supply, and services throughout Perlis since 2022.
Last week, the MACC detained Shukri's son and five others for investigation into alleged false claims amounting to RM600,000 involving state government's infrastructure projects and supply.
Shukri, 63, was appointed as the Menteri Besar after PN defeated Barisan Nasional in the GE15, ending BN's six decades for domination in Perlis since the Independent.
PN almost had a clean sweep in Perlis after winning 14 out of the 15 state seats in GE15, with Pas winning nine seats with Bersatu winning five seats.
