KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Newly-appointed Johor Mentri Besar Dr Sahruddin Jamal officially assumed duty today.

He arrived at the Mentri Besar’s Office in Bangunan Dato’ Jaafar Muhammad, Kota Iskandar, here at 9am and was greeted by State Secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani, state executive councillors and staff of the office.

The Imam of Masjid Kota Iskandar, Hanafiah Abdul Razak, read the doa soon after his arrival and before former Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian handed over duty to Dr Sahruddin at the meeting room of the Mentri Besar’s Office.

Speaking to reporters at the ceremony, Dr Sahruddin, who is also Bukit Kepong state assemblyman, said he was thankful to Osman for his 11 months of service as the mentri besar.

"Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God) for the successful handing over of the Johor Mentri Besar duty by Datuk Osman. 

"Thank you to all the people and Datuk Osman himself who were together with us for about 11 months to ensure that his duty as the mentri besar was discharged successfully,” he said.

Meanwhile, Osman, who is the Kempas state assemblyman, in his speech, advised Dr Sahruddin to focus on his duty and not be distracted by polemics from outside which could affect his work performance.

"I’m not disappointed to hand over duty to Dr Sahruddin, a person I consider to be determined and hardworking, and that is why I also appointed him as secretary of the state Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

"As politician and head of government, we should focus on work; don’t be overly concerned with polemics from outside which could affect our work performance because this era is the electronic age,” he said.

Yesterday, Dr Sahruddin, 43, received his letter of appointment from and took his oath of office before the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, in a ceremony at the audience room of Istana Bukit Serene.

Dr Sahruddin was appointed Johor’s 17th mentri besar following the resignation of Osman on April 8. — Bernama