Azmin regrets nominating Amirudin as successor

 

Former Selangor menteri besar Azmin Ali has expressed regret for nominating Amirudin Shari as his successor in 2018.

Azmin was among the first few menteri besar to be sworn in after the 2018 general election. However, 10 days later, he was appointed to the federal cabinet and thus had to relinquish his position as menteri besar.

In an interview with Malaysia Now, Azmin (above, left) said he had nominated Amirudin while PKR nominated Ijok assemblyperson Dr Idris Ahmad.

"Perhaps, I made the wrong choice at the time, but basically I thought that Selangor needed a young and progressive menteri besar who could continue the policies that had succeeded so far.

"Sadly, I was mistaken. He failed to continue the agenda of caring for the people, and Selangor's economic performance is going down," he said.

Amirudin (above), 43, was once seen as Azmin's protégé. However, Amirudin eventually proved his loyalty to PKR by unseating Azmin as the MP for Gombak, where the latter had represented for three terms.

As the Selangor Perikatan Nasional chief, Azmin will go head-to-head with Amirudin again in the upcoming state elections.

In the interview with Malaysia Now, Azmin rubbished Amirudin's achievements as menteri besar, claiming that Selangor ranked third in investments for the first quarter of this year.

According to the Malaysia Investment Development Authority, Selangor ranked second in 2022.

Steal credit

Azmin said the amount of investment in Selangor during the Amirudin administration cannot be compared to previous administrations when Selangor was deemed an "opposition state".

Azmin also accused Amirudin of trying to steal credit for Amazon Web Services' (AWS) RM25 billion investment in Selangor.

"AWS at the time was looking to invest in Malacca, but I gave my own reasons for saying that it should be in Selangor," said Azmin.

AWS committed to opening a data centre in Malaysia when Azmin was international trade and industry minister. Azmin met AWS representatives in San Francisco in May 2022.

Azmin also attacked Amirudin's decision to end subsidies for the first 20 cubic metres of water for all households.

"In the name of realignment, Amirudin supposedly gives free water to the B40. But he forgets that after the pandemic, even those in the M40 group have become B40," said Azmin.

Azmin also dismissed an ongoing campaign by Amirudin's supporters who credited the latter for an increase in the state's reserves.

"What is the point of the huge reserves that are being hyped up? I used these for development expenditures. It is not the government's job to keep (such funds) anyway," said Azmin. - Mkini