KUALA LUMPUR: Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad has welcomed the possibility of Bagan Datuk member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi being appointed as deputy prime minister.
Saarani, who is also Kota Tampan assemblyman, said he had no objections if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim found Zahid fit for the job.
"The Federal Constitution only stipulates the appointment of a prime minister. The deputy prime minister is appointed by the administration.
"So, if the prime minister believes the Bagan Datuk MP could assist him, I have no objections to that," he said at a media engagement session at St Regis Hotel here on Monday.
Saarani was also optimistic of closer ties between the federal and state governments as Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional had formed a unity government in Putrajaya and the prime minister himself is Tambun MP.
Anwar, on Monday, had said he will let the Federal Constitution "take the lead" in the appointment of politicians with ongoing court cases into the federal cabinet.
While Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Hasan has been touted as a favourite candidate for the deputy prime minister's post, the party's secretary-general, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, on Sunday, stressed that cabinet appointments must follow party hierarchy.
