KUALA KANGSAR: Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir was yesterday appointed the 12th Perak menteri after receiving the mandate through a simple majority in the just concluded 13th General Election.
Accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Saripah Zulkifli, he took his oath of office before the Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah at the Istana Iskandariah here at 10.45am.
Clad in black baju Melayu, Zambry then signed an appointment letter witnessed by Ipoh High Court judge Datuk Zainal Adzam Abdul Ghani and State Secretary Datuk Abdul Puhat Mat Nayan.
Present were Raja Puan Besar of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Raja Dihilir of Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, Raja Puan Muda of Perak Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar Shah and Perak mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria.
Zambry retained the Pangkor state seat with a 5,124-vote majority, beating PKR’s Mohd Saifullah Mohd Zulkifli and Independent Bernard Parenpa.
Zambry, 51, who holds a doctorate in temporary politics from Temple University, the United States, was a one-term state executive councillor before Perak fell to Pakatan Rakyat in the 2008 general election.
The BN took over the reigns of government in February 2009 after the opposition-led state government collapsed after three Pakatan assemblymen declared themselves as Independent and BN-friendly assemblymen.
The Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah later appointed Zambry as the 11th menteri besar.
At the outset of his leadership, Zambry improved the District and Land Office’s land administration process and set up a think-tank, the Darul Ridzuan Institute to plan and implement various initiatives to assist the people in various aspects.
He also initiated Yayasan Bina Upaya Darul Ridzuan to alleviate poverty and implement community capacity building programmes to live up to the slogan ‘Tiada Tertinggal, Tiada Terpinggir’ (No one is left behind, no one is neglected).
The Perak government under his stewardship also implemented the 3P approach of ‘padang, perasaan, penyelesaian’ (field, feeling, solution) which entails going down to the ground, understanding the people’s problems and finding solutions.
Zambry also introduced the Perak Amanjaya Transformation which is based on seven Key Result Areas and sets out development targets to improve the people’s income and provide them with better social services and greater opportunities. — Bernama