Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian said he hoped that the appointment of Fizwan Rashidi as his private secretary is not made into an issue, as the decision was made after taking into account several factors.

Osman said the appointment of the former Kota Tinggi District Council president was made after consultation with state secretary Azmi Rohani and several other senior government officials.

He said Fizwan, who is also a Johor civil servant (JCS), had vast experience as he had served as private secretary to several menteri besar prior to this.

"He is not under political appointment and as a JCS, he usually does not hold any position in any party as he is independent and bound by the post.

"So, if people want to say he is an Umno man or this and that, I cannot stop them. But for me, this decision is not 100 percent made by myself. I had requested this (the appointment) also because I need to start work quickly," he told reporters here, today.

According to Osman, picking someone who had no experience would be troublesome, as this was a new state government which needed to carry out a lot of work in an urgent manner.

He said this when commenting on allegations that Fizwan was closely linked to BN and was believed to be an Umno member, causing discomfort among certain quarters.

Meanwhile, Osman said the state government would ensure Pakatan Harapan’s pledge to give 10 cubic metres of water (residential) per month to the Bottom-40 (B40) target group for free, would be implemented as soon as possible.

On the state executive council line up, he said 50 percent of the councillors were below the age of 45.

He added that the people of Johor could look forward to a much brighter future ahead with Harapan at the helm of the state.

Johor, a bastion of BN and Umno, fell to Harapan in the general election on May 9. BN also lost power at the federal level and is now left with only two states in the peninsula, namely Perlis and Pahang. Pakatan Harapan took seven states and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, while PAS now controls Kelantan and Terengganu.

- Bernama