Azmin: Khalid to get minister’s job if Pakatan takes Putrajaya

(The Malaysian Insider) – Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is likely to be made a Cabinet minister if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins the general election, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali has said.

He told Malay daily Sinar Harian that this would mean Khalid would vacate the Selangor mentri besar’s position even if PR retains the state in the next general election.

Azmin’s remarks are likely to trigger speculation about whether he is eyeing a tilt at becoming Selangor MB, but he did not comment about his own plans.

Azmin, who is Gombak MP, was reported saying that Khalid’s corporate expertise would be better utilised at the federal level, rather than being limited to just one state, should PR take Putrajaya.

Key to the suggestion to promote Khalid was the former corporate captain’s success in leading Selangor, which saw the industrialised state contribute 23 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Azmin told the Malay daily.

“The decision about the possibility is made by combining the various expertise and capabilities to ensure the country’s administration runs smoothly,” Azmin, who is both a federal and state lawmaker, told Sinar Harian.

But he said PR had yet to make a decision on the idea.

“Nobody can predict his position today until the results of GE13 are announced,” he was quoted as saying.

Khalid is seen to be a political novice but a seasoned corporate leader.

He was a member of the National Productivity Council and has broad experience in the corporate industry; he was chief executive of the state-run investment fund Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) from 1979 to 194 and was also CEO of plantations giant now known as Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad from 1995 to 2003.

He had joined PKR and ran in Election 2008 where he took the Ijok state seat, beating Umno’s Satuk Moamed Sayuti Said by a majority of 1,920 votes. The victory catapulted him into the pole position of Malaysia’s wealthiest state.

Khalid is also Bandar Tun Razak MP.