SELANGOR elected representatives should stay away from being chairmen and directors of government-linked companies (GLCs) as these jobs should be left to qualified professionals, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said.

       The Sultan of Selangor said he had read about such appointments, often wondering if these elected representatives had the time or even the qualifications or experience in handling such tasks.

       “They should focus on taking care of their constituents and the state. Leave it to the professionals.

       “I hope they are not just thinking of the perks and remunerations in working for these GLCs, whether state or federal,” he said.

       His Royal Highness said the sluggish state economy and the little that was being done to rejuvenate it was among the issues troubling him.“Besides the Covid-19 pandemic, the never-ending water woe, which was a major bane to industries, is also a factor behind the declining economy.

       “That’s why they (businesses) run away to Vietnam one by one. We will lose investments,” said Sultan Sharafuddin, adding that the lower costs of the labour force in Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia were competitive.

       He added that the state’s water troubles had to be settled without the involvement of politics.

       “That’s why I tell them, don’t play political games. That’s what happened in 2008 when the government changed and the start of politics involving water.

       “What they (the state government) do not want to do, the Federal (government) wants to do and when the state wants to do, the Federal does not want to,’’ he said.

       Sultan Sharafuddin said he had written many letters to the Prime Minister and Mentri Besar asking them to not get the water issue muddled with politics.

       The Sultan said water was very crucial as it could not be substituted, unlike, for example, electricity supply, which, he said, could then be substituted with the use of candles and generators.

       “However, it was not the case with water. If there was a disruption, the people and businesses would suffer tremendously.”

       The Ruler opined that more needed to be done to attract investors to the state and reckoned the Selangor government had placed the wrong people, who lacked the experience, in positions involving investment.

       However, Sultan Sharafuddin was quick to add that the executive councillor for industry and trade, Datuk Teng Chang Khim, performed well in his job.

       He said investors had plenty of destinations to choose from and that Selangor needed to offer the best, adding that the state remained a good place but “we need to do better”.