KUALA LUMPUR: Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad is confident that his state administration will complete its five-year term without any hiccups.
Saarani, who is Kota Tampan assemblyman, said Perak Pakatan Harapan (PH) had given its full support to the new state government at the party leadership's meeting on Monday.
"If the 24 assemblymen from PH are determined to do that, of course, the nine Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen will not let the government down.
"We will reciprocate their goodwill to keep this administration going," he told reporters at a media engagement session at St. Regis Hotel, here, on Monday.
For the first time in Perak's history, PH and BN agreed to form a coalition government on Nov 21 as a result of a hung state assembly after the state elections, which were held concurrently with the 15th General Election.
Saarani, a six-term state assemblyman, said he had advised his new executive committee to set aside political differences and work towards finding a common ground.
In fact, Saarani said, he would ensure that all state constituencies receive the same amount of allocation, irrespective of whether they are held by the ruling or opposition party.
He refuted the claims by his predecessor, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, that the new state government would be dominated and controlled by DAP.
Faizal was ousted as Perak menteri besar in December 2020 after he lost a motion of confidence in the state legislative assembly and was replaced by Saarani.
"That was Peja's (Faizal's) bitter experience. He was the menteri besar when Bersatu (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia) had only one seat in the state assembly. But my situation is different. BN has nine seats, and we hold the menteri besar and speaker posts along with three exco positions.
"The fact that we are in a coalition government does not imply that BN has joined PH or vice versa.
"We will set aside our differences to develop the state and ensure the people's welfare."
The new government, he said, would continue to implement the the Perak Sejahtera 2030 Plan to revive Perak as an industrial state post-pandemic, attract new investments and retain young local talent.
Saarani said the 2023 state budget would be tabled at the first sitting of the state legislative assembly on Dec 19.
"It will be a full budget. The budget was drafted before the state elections. The new exco committee approved the budget last week, so we will table it on Dec 19."