Azmin: Time for Pakatan to get going, starting with Selangor
By Wong Choon Mei, Suara Keadilan
PKR vice president Azmin Ali has called for a reshuffle in the Selangor state executive council, citing complaints from the public and business groups over the recent appointments of local council members and slowness in processing commercial applications.
“Maybe its time for the Mentri Besar to consider an exco reshuffle for the people to be served better,” Azmin said during a sitting of the Selangor legislative assembly.
The senior PKR leader is the Gombak MP as well as Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman.
His call to party colleague and Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim to buck up his team may come across as controversial to some Malaysians still unused to the Pakatan Rakyat’s open style.
But to those who have been following the Kedah crisis, one of many examples this year alone where Pakatan leaders have caused a stir by speaking up for their constituents, it is is becoming part of the norm.
Leaders within all three coalition parties – DAP, PAS and PKR – must be robust enough to accept criticism from the public and also from within as they strive for improvement.
Of course, they are also entitled to defend themselves but they must not lose sight that the overall aim is not personal but to improve and raise standards of governance and living for all Malaysians.
Let’s get going
After 15 months in office, it is indeed time for Pakatan lawmakers to push for the next threshold. It is all too easy to excel when the benchmark is the Umno-BN but to keep comparing against would be to compare oneself with death.
“I suggested to the Mentri Besar to reexamine the performance of the exco members as they play important roles in realising the states policies,” Azmin later told a press conference.
The 45-year old PKR leader also said he has submitted several suggestions to Khalid.
“An example would be the appointment of local council councilors recently which should have been done in a better way given that the Selangor government emphasises on good governance, democracy, human rights and rule of law,”
He chided the state exco over rising complaints from business groups that bureaucracy was increasing and blocking commercial growth and enterprise.
Indeed, there have been rumblings from corporate Malaysia but Khalid’s team has been trying to install their own system to replace the previous one run by Umno’s Khir Toyo, which was famed for its loopholes exposing the state to gross corruption.
Nevertheless, Azmin said the honeymoon was over and if the Selangor exco could not come up with business friendly policies while increasing transparency at the same time, they should make way for better performers.
“The revenue for the state currently is also not what we had expected,” he said.
