Combination of two former MBs will drive Perak economy — Analysts

IPOH: The combination of two political figures who were former Perak Menteris Besar (MBs) can smooth the administration of the newlyformed state government, as well as advance the state’s economy for the benefit of the people.

Lecturer in the Department of History, Faculty of Human Sciences, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Prof Dr Ishak Saat said the people now want to see the impact of the combined government of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) in governing the state.

He said the chemistry of Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, who was sworn in as the new Perak Menteri Besar yesterday for a new term, and former menteri besar, Datuk Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who was sworn in today as a member of the State Executive Council (Exco), will prosper Perak and will meet the expectations of the people.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) agreed to cooperate to form the state government, after they secured 24 (PH) and nine (BN) seats in the 15th General Election (GE15), while Perikatan Nasional (PN) garnered 26 seats.

“Personally, the two parties are a fair combination, because we have two experienced people in state administration whose combination is very good for Perak.

“What is uppermost is cooperation in giving priority to the state over their own political interests because, in terms of seats, BN securing nine seats is good enough for me, especially when the party is offered the position of MB and state speaker. There is a ‘check and balance’ there,” he told Bernama.

He emphasised that the leadership that has been appointed must provide the best governance and excellent leadership without playing up any party sentiment, by prioritising the interests of the state.

“Give priority to the state over the interests of your own party. To pursue the satisfaction of a party is impossible because the people have already made this decision, that none of the parties get a majority,” he said.

In the meantime, Universiti Kebangsaan (UKM) Political Science senior lecturer, Jamaie Jamil, said that PH is seen to be concerned with the course and political stability of the state, and is not interested in playing politics.

“We can see that there are no political issues in the state where PH is happy for the sake of political stability, and this is not new for them,” he told Bernama.

He said PH trusted Saarani, who previously held the position of MB, and continued to support him to continue the administration and unfinished business of the state.

Nizar, who is also the Sungai Rapat assemblyman, was among the 10 assemblymen who took the oath of office as an exco member before the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, at Istana Iskandariah yesterday.

The 10 exco members are three BN assemblymen from Umno, while PH is represented by four from DAP, two from PKR, and one from Amanah.

They include Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun, former state Public Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transport Committee chairman; former Perak Umno Puteri chief, Salbiah Mohamed and A. Sivanesan who is former state Health, Consumer Affairs, National Integration and Human Resources Committee chairman.

The Perak state assembly now consists of 26 PN (Perikatan Nasional) assemblymen, 24 PH assemblymen and nine BN assemblymen.