Selangor exco racial mix shows Malays in charge, say analysts

 

The sultan of Selangor with menteri besar Amirudin Shari and the new 10-member Selangor executive council. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The racial composition of the new Selangor executive council, with only two Chinese among the 10 exco members, could be a move to send a message that the Malays are still in charge, according to political analysts.

Seven of the 10 are Malays. The three others are Ng Sze Han, Ng Suee Lim and Papparaidu Veraman, all from DAP.

Political analyst Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said the exco lineup could be aimed at dispelling fears that the Chinese, through  DAP, are in charge of the government, a perception used by PAS and Bersatu in the state election campaigns this month.

“This lineup is very interesting indeed. Technically, DAP has the greatest number of portfolios with four, and they should be dominant. But of the four, only two are Chinese, with one Malay and one Indian member.

“So, the Malays are the biggest beneficiary of this lineup. I think the unity government is trying to show that the Malays are dominant even though the most successful party was the Chinese-based DAP in the state election,” he told FMT.

The ruling unity alliance holds 34 of the 56 seats in the state assembly, of which DAP won all 15 seats it contested, while PKR bagged 12, Amanah five and Umno two.

Although a total of 38 assemblymen are Malay, 22 of them are with the opposition Perikatan Nasional, and the other 16 with the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional alliance.

Azmi said the combination of an Umno man in the lineup with six other Malays could also attract the community. He said DAP has been tolerant in this case and this bodes well for the unity government in future elections.

Socio-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the state exco lineup will help counter racial sentiments played up by the opposition, especially any notion that the state government is controlled by the Chinese through DAP’s 15 seats.

“This did not happen as we can see from the (exco) appointments. It goes to show that the Malays or Indians are not being marginalised as claimed by the opposition. We can actually see the concept of Malaysian unity trying to be portrayed by the Selangor government,” he said.

However, both analysts said what is paramount for this new Selangor exco is how well they manage the state, deemed the most important in the country, especially economically. - FMT