Ten Kedah Exco members to take oath on Monday

ALOR SETAR - The swearing-in ceremony for the Kedah Executive Council (Exco) members is expected to take place on Monday.

According to information from the Kedah State Secretary's Office (SUK), the Exco swearing-in ceremony will be held in the presence of the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, at Istana Anak Bukit at 10am.

A total of 10 Exco members will be appointed from among the 21 assemblymen from Pas, 11 from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), and a single representative from Gerakan who won in the recent state polls held last Saturday.

However, as of now, the composition of the exco lineup remains uncertain and has not been officially announced.

During a press conference on Monday, the caretaker Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor revealed that a mix of both old and new faces is anticipated to form the new Kedah cabinet.

Additionally, he suggested the possibility of portfolio realignments according to current circumstances.

In the previous term, two Exco members were not included as they did not contest the state seats during the polls after securing MP posts.

The former Senior Exco Datuk Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail, previously in charge of Industry and Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, is now serving as Kubang Pasu MP.

Likewise, the former Exco for Agriculture and Food Industry, Plantation and Commodities, Transportation, and Indian Community Affairs, Datuk Azman Nasrudin, did not defend his seat in Lunas after winning the Padang Serai parliamentary seat.

Two other former Exco members were not nominated in state polls. They are Mohd Firdaus Ahmad (Youth and Sports, Tourism, Arts and Culture, Entrepreneurial Development, and Cooperatives), and Dr Robert Ling Kui Ee (Housing, Environment, Unity, Chinese and Siamese Community Affairs).

Five senior Exco members are expected to be retained in the new Kedah Cabinet, with four representing Pas: Datuk Dr Mohd Hayati Othman, Datuk Siti Aishah Ghazali, Datuk Wan Romani Wan Salim, and Datuk Najmi Ahmad.

Among the anticipated representatives from Bersatu is Datuk Halimaton Shaadiah Saad, who will be in charge of Women, Family, Community, and Welfare.

Datuk Mohd Hayati is likely to assume the Senior Exco role, potentially replacing Ku Abd Rahman, due to his extensive experience in both the party and state administration.

Five other vacancies are expected to be filled by new faces. Among them, it's possible that Kuala Nerang Munir state assemblyman Munir Zakaria will be retained after taking over duties from the previous Exco member, Datuk Suraya Yaakob of Umno.

Several names are mentioned as potential new Exco members. Jitra assemblyman Haim Hilman Abdullah, who holds significant experience in education, might be appointed as the Exco for Education.

State Assembly Alor Mengkudu Muhammad Radhi Mat Din is speculated to take charge of Youth and Sports, given his remarkable achievements in Kedah's football history.

With his extensive experience, Kubang Rotan assemblyman Datuk Mohd Salleh Saidin, as the Bersatu Kuala Kedah Division Secretary, is likely to fill an Exco position.

His business background and role as Chairman of the Salleh Saidin Foundation make him a suitable candidate for Bersatu's vacant Exco position.

It's not unlikely that another vacancy will be filled by a female State Assembly member. In the previous term, Kedah allocated a 30 percent quota to women in the state administration.

Only two out of four winning female state assemblies from the last state elections remain options: Kundor Mardhiyyah Johari (Pas-Pengkalan) and Shamsilah Siru (Bersatu-Ayer Hangat).

For non-Malay representation, the single representative from Gerakan, State Assembly Kulim Wong Chia Zhen, is also speculated to be appointed as an Exco member to balance administrative affairs.

She might possibly handle the affairs of the Chinese, Indian, and Siamese communities.

These speculations will only be confirmed on Monday after all 10 Exco members take their oaths of office at Istana Anak Bukit.