Xavier, Wong may be dropped from S’gor exco lineup
Meena Lakshana, fz.com
PKR’s Dr Xavier Jayakumar and Elizabeth Wong have accepted the possibility that they may not been reappointed to the Selangor state executive council.
This is apparently because the new lineup will feature six Malays and four non-Malays, as requested by the Sultan of Selangor to better reflect the racial composition of the assembly members.
With three or four of the non-Malay exco positions going to DAP, PKR will at the most have only one non-Malay representative in the lineup.
Wong, when contacted today, said she is committed towards working for her Bukit Lanjan state constituency and addressing environmental issues irrespective of whether she gets an exco post.
“Yes there is a possibility (of not being re-appointed) but it won’t affect my resolve to represent my constituents and my work on the environment,” she said.
“We place our trust in MB (Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim) to make the best decision on this matter (exco line-up),” she added.
Xavier told fz.com that PKR had agreed to include a non-Malay assembly member in its exco list but the decision was not final.
‘There are a few names. We will have to wait and see,” he said.
In previous discussions, Selangor Pakatan Rakyat leaders had agreed that the 10 exco positions would be equally distributed between Malays and non-Malays, with PAS representatives holding three posts (in addition to the speaker’s post), DAP holding four posts and PKR holding three posts (as well as the menteri besar’s post).
DAP had already mooted former speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim and Seri Kembangan assembly member Ean Yong Hian Wah to fill two exco positions.
Teng was known to have thrown his name in the hat for the exco position even before the May 5 polls.
Also, DAP won more seats in Selangor compared to PKR. DAP and PAS each won 15 seats while PKR won 14 seats.
However, in a surprise announcement on Saturday, Abdul Khalid revealed the ratio of positions between DAP and PAS had switched.
According to a PKR source, the reason behind this was due to a proposal from the Sultan of Selangor for Malay elected representatives to assume six exco positions while non-Malay representatives will assume the remaining four exco positions to better reflect the racial composition of the newly elected state assembly.
Out of 56 state assembly members, 37 are Malays and 19 are non-Malays.
The previous exco lineup had five Malays and five non-Malays.
If Pakatan were to accede to the ruler’s proposal, and maintained DAP’s ratio of four exco positions, then PKR would have to nominate its Malay elected representatives for the exco posts and exclude Wong and Xavier.
The Pakatan leadership is now in discussion to solve the kerfuffle over the exco line-up.
