PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: Selangor Barisan Nasional believes there is a hidden agenda to the state government's appointment of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as its economic adviser.

State opposition chief Datuk Satim Diman questioned why the PKR adviser was appointed to the post when he only had an Islamic Studies degree.

He also wondered if Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who has an economics background, was railroaded into appointing Anwar.

"I find this appointment very strange. Penang and Kelantan have not appointed Anwar as their economic adviser," he noted.

Satim, who is Sri Serdang state assemblyman, suggested in a statement yesterday several reasons why Anwar was appointed.

He ventured that the appointment could be to create a clear path for PKR vice-president Azmin Ali to assist Khalid in handling the "unstable politics" between PKR and PAS in Selangor and the possibility of assemblymen leaving Pakatan.

"His appointment as economic adviser is only an excuse for that," said Satim.

He added that when PKR failed to install Azmin as Sabah chairman, the Federal Territory PKR chief's post was taken away from Khalid and given to Azmin.

"The Selangor Mentri Besar's position is an excellent platform for Azmin's political future. His (Anwar's) appointment is only a first step in the Selangor chess game," said Satim.

Another possibility, Satim speculated, was for Anwar to create economic instability in Selangor and to make the public think worse of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's leadership.

"If Selangor's economy becomes worse, it will similarly affect the country's economy."

Meanwhile, former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said Malaysia's economy almost collapsed when Anwar was Finance Minister during the 1997-1998 financial crisis.

"He followed the IMF (International Monetary Fund) prescriptions and increased the interest rate. If not for then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who took unconventional measures to protect the ringgit, we would have been in an economic rut for a long time."