KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — Seri Serdang assemblyman Datuk Satim Diman has been named the new Selangor opposition leader, making him a potential mentri besar candidate if Barisan Nasional (BN) retakes the state.
At the state Umno liaison committee meeting last night, former minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed was appointed state party secretary, a position previously held by Satim.
The minor reshuffle was made following the resignation of Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, who quit as opposition leader early last month after he was charged with land fraud.
“The appointment was decided last night and my task will be to prepare the party to win back Selangor,” Satim told The Malaysian Insider.
“Datuk Mohd Zin as a former minister is very experienced; he will focus on strengthening Umno and I will continue with other works that we started before; everyone will have a role to play. The reshuffle shows our seriousness in winning back Selangor,” said the Puchong Umno division chief.
Selangor Umno is headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak with Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Noh Omar as the new deputy.
“The meeting last night showed our preparedness. All members of the state liaison body attended including the new Youth chief Engku Salleh,” said Satim.
Satim had previously come under attack from Umno blogs for alleged failure to perform as a state lawmaker and was also rumoured to have resigned in June last year.
The four-term assemblyman later denied the rumours and made several appearances at Umno-organised public rallies in the state.
Satim was tipped to be the Selangor mentri besar after the resignation of Tan Sri Abu Hassan Omar in 2000 but then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad chose to back the younger Khir to take over the state leadership.
Early this week, Selangor Umno Youth also saw a leadership change when influential Serdang Youth leader Engku Salleh Engku Abdul Jamal was named as the new state Youth chief, replacing Sepang Youth chief Suhaimi Mohd Ghazali.
The reshuffle comes at a time when the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government is struggling to control the fallout from its disagreement with the palace over the appointment of new state secretary, Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi.
The administration of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has refused to recognise Khusrin’s selection, which it insists was made after interference by the BN federal government.
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