SEKINCHAN: Selangor caretaker Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had a pleasant surprise when he was openly endorsed by his PKR boss Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister made an impromptu announcement that Amirudin will be retained as mentri besar if the government made up of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional manages to keep Selangor in the upcoming polls.
Anwar, who is also Pakatan chairman, announced this in his speech at the launch of the Sentuhan Agro Madani programme here yesterday, adding that Amirudin had administered the state very well.
“This is the first time I am announcing this,” said Anwar, adding that Amirudin had managed to pull in a lot of investments with his stewardship of the state.
He said Selangor had recorded very high economic growth in the first quarter of this year.
“Selangor showed an economic growth of 5.6% in the first quarter of this year, which is higher than China and Singapore,” he added.
Anwar said the high economic growth recorded in Selangor did not include the upcoming big investments by Tesla Inc and SpaceX, announced by the companies’ chief executive officer Elon Musk during a virtual meeting with Anwar recently.
In an immediate response, Amirudin who was also at the event, told reporters that this was the first time he was hearing that he would be retained as mentri besar if the polls go well for the pact.
Amirudin, who is Gombak MP and Sungai Tua assemblyman, said he was thankful for Anwar’s endorsement.
“I thank the prime minister for the appreciation and acknowledgement, and it must be proven with a significant win in the election,” he added.
He also said he was certain that Anwar’s suggestion would be duly endorsed by other leaders in the unity government.
Amirudin was appointed mentri besar in 2018, and this would be his second term if he is reappointed.
