Ex-CM: Pakatan reps must be given important posts

MELAKA: Pakatan Harapan lawmakers must be given significant portfolios in the new unity state government, says Datuk Seri Idris Haron.

The former Melaka chief minister said the state-level unity government should have a similar mechanism as the one adopted at the federal level.

“The appointment of Pakatan assemblymen in the new Melaka executive council (exco) line-up must come with significant portfolios,” he said.

He was commenting on a news portal’s report on Saturday that two Pakatan representatives would be appointed to the exco under new Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Jusoh.

The report said one of the portfolios was likely to be the state assembly’s deputy speaker.

Currently, Pakatan has five state seats, four of them held by DAP, out of 28 seats.

Idris said the deputy speaker post was considered “negligible”.

“It is not in line with the Federal Government’s spirit. The state government will be doomed to fail if such insignificant exco portfolios are entrusted to Pakatan,” he said in an interview here yesterday.

Idris said although Barisan Nasional commanded the majority of the state seats, the formation of a unity state government would be a benchmark for the forthcoming state elections involving Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu.

“So Pakatan lawmakers must be considered for important portfolios,” he added.

At a live show that was shared via social media on Saturday, Idris said his successor was expected to face challenges on how to effectively execute the power-sharing formula at the grassroots level.

He also expressed hopes that the distribution of exco portfolios to Pakatan lawmakers would be done without discrimination.

“I had proposed the idea of a unity state government before the Melaka election in 2021 and it has finally materialised,” he added.