Umno moots Melaka chief Ab Rauf Yusoh as new CM

Umno has proposed the party's Melaka chairman Ab Rauf Yusoh for appointment as the 13th Melaka chief minister.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he had submitted the proposal to Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Mohd Ali Rustam.

"The party has submitted a letter proposing Ab Rauf Yusoh as the new Melaka chief minister," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

This followed Sulaiman Md Ali’s resignation as the 12th Melaka chief minister yesterday.

Asked why Sulaiman had resigned, Zahid said his decision was due to health factors.

Zahid, who is also a deputy prime minister, confirmed yesterday that Sulaiman, the Lendu state assemblyman, had resigned as chief minister.

The Umno president said Sulaiman handed over his resignation letter at a meeting in Zahid’s office at the Parliament building.

Asked whether the Melaka state executive council line-up would be reshuffled to include Pakatan Harapan representatives, Zahid said he hoped this could be done in the spirit of the coalition government at the federal level.

"I am confident this spirit will flow to Melaka so that good optics can be seen not only by the people in Melaka but also all other people (throughout the country)," he said.