'Retaining Amirudin as Selangor MB is a wise decision', experts say

SHAH ALAM - "Caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari is doing a decent job running Selangor, so retaining him as MB is not a bad decision", say experts.

Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Dr Oh Ei Sun said retaining Amirudin as the menteri besar for the state will be a wise decision.

Oh told Sinar Daily that initially, many Selangorians did not have high hopes for Amirudin when he was elected as the Menteri Besar back in 2018, but he gained popularity by doing a great job.

"When Amirudin was chosen after the departure of former Selangor Menter Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, many of them didn't have high hopes for him.

"But over the last few years, including during the pandemic years, Amirudin has steadily guided Selangor through the challenging pandemic years.

"Now Selangor is very proactive in gaining foreign investments to revive the business," he said.

Amirudin is suggested to remain in his position if the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition wins the upcoming Selangor state election on Aug 12.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Amirudin has shown good leadership throughout his tenure as Menteri Besar and that he is responsible for the state's strong economic growth.

Commenting further, political analyst Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said Anwar wants to retain Amirudin for his leadership and contribution towards the betterment of the state.

"Current surveys also show that Amirudin is popular among the masses, and I think Anwar took that as an indicator to name him as the poster boy for Selangor Menter Besar.

When asked if BN would be disappointed if PH's Amirudin was chosen as Selangor Menteri Besar, Sivamurugan said that BN must address it accordingly as they need to work as a team under the Unity Government and Kita Selangor spirit.

Meanwhile, UUM political analyst Profesor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani also echoed the view that Amirudin deserves to continue leading Selangor.

"Amirudin performed well as Menteri Besar and Selangor progressed well socio-economically under his leadership.

"This arrangement was already agreed upon by BN because BN will be a part of the Unity Government after the election if BN-PH wins the election," he said.