All Chief Ministers have big challenges ahead

The newly appointed head of states will have a set of great challenges over the course of their tenureship, as they need to address a series of national, social and economic issues.

Political analyst Profesor Dr. Ahmad Atory Hussein said among the most important agenda that all Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers is to continue and further improve the racial unity and harmony in their states.

"The heads of states need to find ways to create more job opportunities and increase the source of income for their states," said Ahmad Atory.

After the general election on May 5, several states appointed their heads including Perlis, Penang, Sabah and Kelantan.

On May 6, Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman, former Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir sworn in as the chief minister of Sabah, Kelantan Menteri Besar and Kedah Menteri Besar, respectively.

Subsequently, other appointments include Azlan Man as the Menteri Besar of Perlis, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor Menteri Besar and Tan Sri Khaled Nordin as Johor Menteri Besar.

Analysts highlighted that head of states will have their "unique" set of issues that need to be addressed, as well as prioritising these issues.

"In Selangor, Khalid would have to solve the impending water issue.

"He has to stop the confrontational approach to the issue and take a more collaborative approach to it for the people’s benefit," he said.

First time MB Mukhriz is expected to mainly focus on growing the states economy -- to close its gap with developed states like Selangor, Penang and Johor.

"Kedah lags behind in terms of development and that is something that needs to be rectified. Mukhriz also need to bring in foreign investors,” said political analyst Associate Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani.

Meanwhile, analysts said that Mohamed Khaled is expected to perform a "balancing act" in Johor -- to regain the trust of the Chinese community while not making the Malay community feel marginalised.

"On top of that, Mohd Khaled would also need to ensure that the Iskandar development stays on track. This will not be an easy balancing act," said Mohd Azizuddin.

Other key issues that most MB and Chief Ministers, especially those heading the developed states, will face is to improve public safety and security.

Analyst Khoo Kay Peng said that Selangor, one of the states where the people traffic is high, is where the safety and public security aspects have to be handled efficiently.

"Also, all local councils need to buck up their services," he said.