KUANTAN, April 14 — PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed hope that Dr Sahruddin Jamal will be able to discharge his new duties as the Mentri Besar of Johor firmly, especially in ensuring the wellbeing of the people.

He also expressed gratitude for the smooth running of the succession process despite some confusions in the initial stage.

Anwar said PKR had always been firm in its stand that the post belonged to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and hence, supported the appointment of Dr Sahruddin as the new Mentri Besar of Johor.

“We would like to congratulate him (Dr Sahruddin) and we hope that he will be able to enhance performance to uphold government policies and protect the interests of the people of Johor,” he told reporters after opening Pahang PKR headquarters at Kuantan Avenue here today.

Also present were Pahang PKR Leadership Council chairman Fuziah Salleh and Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who is also Indera Mahkota MP.

Dr Sahruddin, 43, who was Johor Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman before this, succeeds Datuk Osman Sapian who stepped down as Mentri Besar of Johor on April 8.

He took his oath of office as the 17th Mentri Besar of Johor before the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar at Istana Bukit Serene, earlier today.

In his speech, Anwar also described Osman’s resignation as the proof of PH government’s firmness in upholding its principles.

“Never in our history did we have a mentri besar serving for only 10 months... until now. It happened because we promised not to wait or take too long to correct a mistake. If this happened in the previous government, would they do the same?” he added. — Bernama