Appointed Perak MB once more, Ahmad Faizal vows excos will be ‘clean’ too

IPOH, March 13 — Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who was reappointed as the Perak mentri besar (MB), has pledged that Perak will also have a “clean” state executive council members (exco) to administer the state.

Ahmad Faizal said he will follow the example set by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who made a similar pledge when appointing his federal Cabinet members.

“Definitely, I will take the appointment of the Cabinet members as an example in selecting the exco line-up for the state,” he told a press conference after his swearing-in ceremony as the mentri besar at Istana Iskandariah here.

“Those candidates which will be suggested to the Perak’s Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah need to have a clean record and have to be screened by the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, so that the appointment will not portray a negative image to the state government.”

Ahmad Faizal said that the new excos will be appointed by next week the latest.

“There is no period fixed for the appointment of the exco, but I feel it is right to do it fast as we did not conduct any exco meeting for the past five weeks due to the political turmoil. This has cost a loss to the state,” he said.

“The appointment is also important as the Sultan has raised his concern today over the current economic situation which is badly affected due to the spread of Covid-19 infection,” he added.

Ahmad Faizal also said that he will be meeting Perak Umno chief Datuk Saarani Mohamad and Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria as soon as possible to discuss the list of excos.

Ahmad Faizal also expressed his gratitude to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, who is now the Opposition, as well as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc for ensuring a smooth power transition.

“I also thank all the PH assemblymen and also the PN assemblymen who supported me for the MB post.

“This shows that interest in the stability of the government has succeeded the parties’ political interest,” he said.

On March 9, the Chenderiang assemblyman said that Bersatu had reached an agreement with Umno and PAS to form a new government under the PN bloc.

Subsequently, Ahmad Faizal resigned from his post as MB the next day.

Following the development, Ahmad Faizal, Saarani and Razman were respectively nominated by their parties for the MB’s position.

Earlier today, Ahmad Faizal was sworn in as the 13th Perak MB at the Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar.

Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria said that Ahmad Faizal deserved the MB’s post for the sacrifice he made in resigning as MB of the PH government.