After newly-appointed Johor MB came under fire for his faux pas of appointing “Umno trash” as secretary, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has advised him to be careful and not be rash in making decisions concerning the state and party, and to prioritise Pakatan members.
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 said.
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.