Khalid-Azmin tussle for real
(MM) – The tussle between two Parti Keadilan Rakyat strongmen — Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and deputy party president Azmin Ali — is for real despite attempts to play it down and the straight-faced denials by both of them.
Khalid’s administrative style, dubbed “stingy” by quarters close to Azmin, is said to be the crux of the problem, which is compounded by Azmin’s hard-nosed style of politicking and support-gathering.
The issue has been around since last year when talk surfaced that Azmin, the state assemblyman for Bukit Antarabangsa, might take over the helm in Selangor.
He is known to be loyal to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and is understood to be getting directives from the PKR de facto leader, although Anwar has denied this.
Anwar, who is Selangor economic adviser, also has anr “eye” in the menteri besar’s office as he had appointed party secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution as the state government’s political liaision officer.
It is understood that it was through this that Anwar came out to make strong comments regarding Khalid’s administration which failed to spend more on state development from the estimated RM2.8 billion resources available.
Using the salvo, Azmin made two “enthusiastic” bids for the coveted position but he seemed to have lost on both counts with Khalid having the backing of PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
It is a position he has been in since March 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat captured Selangor from BN and he was picked by Anwar to be state party chief as well as party general secretary.
He also received support from the other Pakatan Rakyat allies — DAP and PAS — and the Selangor Sultan.
During that time, Azmin made a vain attempt to lobby for the post but he failed to get enough support from state assemblymen.
This time the scenario could be different as it is believed that all 14 PKR assemblymen had lost hope in “stingy” menteri besar Khalid who, they claim, is only supported by his political secretary Faekah Husin.
Even Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad — a loyalist and former special officer to the menteri besar — is said to be against him, just like PAS commissioner Dr Abdul Rani Osman and state DAP chief Lau Weng San.
Meanwhile, a state PKR insider threw further light on the tussle, saying it signalled a plot for next year’s party polls which could possibly see Azmin taking on Wan Azizah for the party presidency.
He said the move to vote against Khalid to be replaced by Azmin may also materialise next year.
