SHAH ALAM, July 18 — Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari will continue serving as the Selangor Menteri Besar if Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) retains Selangor in the upcoming state election next month, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Free Malaysia Today reported today that the Harapan chairman, who is also the Prime Minister, said this was following the state’s impressive track record in attracting investments under Amirudin’s leadership.
“Selangor recorded the highest economic growth rate in the first quarter.
“That’s why we propose for Amirudin to remain as menteri besar. This is my first official announcement (of this proposal). Look, even he is surprised,” Anwar was reported to have said at the launch of Sentuhan Agro Madani programme at MSekin Wonderland, today.
On Friday, Anwar unveiled that Tesla Inc will set up its head office, service centre, and experience centre in Selangor this year.
This follows a virtual meeting held between the Prime Minister and Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk, joined by SpaceX senior director Lauren Dreyer, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Amirudin said the districts of Petaling and Sepang are among the locations in the state identified as potential sites and assured that respective local authorities would assist in facilitating the necessary due diligence process.
He said Tesla’s investment in Malaysia reflects the high level of investor confidence in the state administration and hoped it would boost the state’s economy, attract more international investors, and give its residents access to high-skilled employment opportunities, particularly in the clean energy industry.
Meanwhile, on June 27, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) revealed that Selangor’s contribution to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded one-quarter of that of the country at 25.5 per cent in 2022. The figure also represented a 0.7 per cent increase from its contribution to the national GDP in 2021.
The recent data released also showed that Selangor recorded an all-time high economic growth of 11.9 per cent in 2022, surpassing the national growth rate of 8.7 per cent.
Selangor is one of only four states that achieved economic growth higher than the national level. The others are Penang (13.1 per cent), Pahang (10.8 per cent) and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (9.2 per cent).
This marks the highest growth and the highest contribution by Selangor to the national GDP since the Pakatan Harapan coalition was entrusted with governing the state in 2008.
Amirudin recently said the success demonstrates the confidence domestic and foreign investors have in the way Selangor is governed.
