Selangor exco sworn in
Malaysiakini.com
Mar 24, 2008
Syed Jaymal Zahiid

The 10 Selangor executive council members were sworn in at Istana Alam Shah in Klang this morning. MCPX

selangor state exco list 2008They are Teresa Kok, Dr Hassan Ali, Yaakob Sapari, Rodziah Ismail, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Dr Halimah Ali, Iskandar Abdul Samad, Ronnie Liu, Elizabeth Wong and Ean Yong Hian Wah.

As reported by Malaysiakini on Friday, the line-up had an equal number of Malay to non-Malay members. It also includes four women members.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim revealed that no deputy menteri besar would be appointed for the time being.

“Just like the previous exco led by Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, we have not selected any candidate for the post yet. As the government moves forward, we will look into the matter,” he told a press conference after lunch with the state ruler.

“In the meantime, for effectiveness and cohesion, the post will be vacant. We will inform the media as soon as we arrive at a decision.”

Kok, one of the candidates who had been tipped for the post, has been made senior exco member - a position created in lieu of a deputy menteri besar post. She also holds the investment, industry and trade portfolio.

On the line-up, Khalid said he believes the members have experience and academic expertise to carry out their tasks.

Investors and the business community should not be worried with the PKR-DAP-PAS state government, which has no intention of shunning businesses, he said.

“We are not trying to stop business. We just want to ensure that commerce is done accordingly, (so that it benefits everyone)” stressed Khalid.

He said a main objectives of the new state government are to “modernise agriculture” and to intensify entrepreneurial skills in rural areas.

“Sixty percent of Selangor’s economy (is based on) urban (commerce), so we must look into other sectors, namely agriculture, for consolidation,” he said.

selangor state exco ceremony 240308 03Khalid also promised to institute measures that would allow the public to gain access to state documents

“We will try to find ways around the Official Secrets Act so that appropriate government documents can be made public at the appropriate time,” he said, adding that it would be done soon after the first exco meeting on Wednesday.

The first state assembly session will be convened in April or May, although the exact date is not yet available.

Teng’s absence

An obvious absentee among the state assemblypersons today was DAP's veteran Teng Chang Khim, who has been left out of the exco list.

teng chang khim 02Teng, who is Sungai Pinang representative, was former state opposition leader.

According to Kok, Teng had informed Chinese newspapers yesterday that he did not "receive any invitation" to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

However, Teng’s absence appears to be a snub over the fact that three relatively junior DAP assemblypersons had been selected over him.

selangor state exco ceremony 240308 05As a compromise, Teng is likely to be picked as Speaker of the state assembly.

When asked by journalists whether Teng's supporters would be unhappy with his faction being sidelined, Kok (photo) said that it was all "up to Teng".

She also commented on Umno Selangor’s recent protest against the exco line-up. Youth chief Abdul Shukor Idrus had blasted the composition as not reflecting the racial composition of the state.

Shukor had argued that the exco must consist of six Malay members to reflect Selangor’s racial composition.

However, Kok described the argument as “politically immature”.

“They should respect the will of the people. We were chosen by them and we are all Malaysians. We cannot look (at such matters) from the racial angle any more,” she said.

Among those present today at the palace were former mentri besar Mohd Khir Toyo and new state Barisan Nasional chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib, but they were not available for comment.

Copyright © 1999-2007 Mkini Dotcom Sdn. Bhd.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news//80270