He said he has taken note of the concerns raised over the composition of his state Exco. However, the appointments were not permanent and it was up to him to make changes as he wished.
On Thursday, assemblymember Norlela Ariffin of PKR said there had been a bias towards DAP in the choices of executive councillors. PKR, Amanah and PPBM had collectively won 18 seats to DAP’s 19, but the Exco had 7 from DAP and 3 from PKR.
Chow said that as he was taking over a new position as CM (from Lim Guan Eng, who has been named to the federal Cabinet), “I decided to stick to the old Exco formula which has been in existence since 2008.”
He said that was to enable a continuation of good service to the voters. “I hope the Exco members will prove my faith in them by performing well. We should move on and focus on delivery of service to justify the voters’ faith in Pakatan Harapan,” he said.
He reminded executive councillors that under the Westminster parliamentary system, he could make a reshuffle, if needed.
“I am not saying it is needed now, but let’s focus on performance,” Chow said while on a visit to the Campbell Street Market today.
He said Amanah and PPBM members of the state assembly would have plenty of time to prove their mettle and give their best service to their constituents.
Norlela, who is assembly member for Penanti, had suggested that DAP and PKR have an equal number of seats on the Exco.
The current 40-member state assembly comprises DAP (19), PKR (14), Amanah (two), PPBM (two), Barisan Nasional (two) and PAS (one).