Anwar foils attempt to kick out Khalid as MB
(The Malaysian Times) – Opposition de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim halted an attempt by Parti Keadilan Rakya’s (PKR) political bureau to kick out the Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim from office.
It was said that almost 90 percent of the bureau members wanted Khalid removed from his position, and added that almost the entire political bureau was aligned to PKR deputy president, Azmin Ali.
“They were enraged that Azmin was unceremoniously thrown out of the Selangor State Development Corporation’s (PKNS) board when his tenure should rightfully end only in February 2015,” reported the Star online by quoting a PKR source.
A senior Selangor PAS leader said removing Azmin from PKNS was not a strong enough reason for PKR to remove Khalid as the Mentri Besar.
“Anyway, they don’t have enough seats to make such an arbitrary move as they hold only 14 seats as opposed to the 15 seats each held by PAS and DAP, respectively,” said the leader.
DAP AND PAS INTERVENE
A Klang-based DAP leader said DAP and PAS would probably intervene if PKR ejected Khalid.
“As far as DAP is concerned, the grassroots community, especially the Chinese, prefer and trust Khalid over Azmin.
“For them, its refreshing to have a state leader who is so unassuming and business-minded as opposed to a hardcore politician like Azmin,” he said.
A source close to the state government said: “Can they do that? Selangor is not a republic. There are state laws, processes and procedures to be adhered to,” he said.
According to the state official, the power to appoint the Mentri Besar was vested in hands of the Selangor Ruler, in this case, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Another PKR member who is a Khalid supporter said it would be a big embarrassment for the party if it removed the Mentri Besar over Azmin’s termination in PKNS.
“If they want to sack Khalid because he had swindled money or the state companies’ assets, no one will question the political bureau’s move.
“Khalid is successfully managing Selangor and keeping the state at its best, and they want to sack him because Azmin is out of PKNS?” he asked.
Khalid had said at a press conference on Wednesday that it was PKNS general manager Othman Omar who had removed Azmin from the board of directors.
However, PKNS issued a statement the following day saying Othman did not have the locus standi to hire and fire board members.
Anwar also said that Azmin’s removal was not valid, and that only Khalid and the executive council could appoint or remove PKNS board members.
TWITTER WAR
Meanwhile NST reported, Azmin Ali took to Twitter to label Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as “Mr U-turn” in regard to the former’s removal from the Selangor State Development Corporation’s (PKNS) board.
The swipe against Khalid comes amidst a political maelstrom building up against the menteri besar over the matter, which has raised eyebrows among top PKR leaders.
It also follows claims by at least two party leaders that Azmin had proposed Khalid’s sacking from his menteri besar post.
When one of Azmin’s Twitter followers yesterday wrote about Khalid’s decision to discontinue Azmin’s services in the board following a decision by PKNS general manager Datuk Othman Omar, Azmin replied with a tweet: “hanya mr. u-turn boleh kata begitu” (Only Mr. U-turn can say something like that), implying that Khalid has a tendency to go back on his words.
When approached by another follower, who had tweeted, “Hanya di Selangor, pengurus besar boleh pecat ahli lembaga pengarah” (Only in Selangor can a general manager terminate a member of the board of directors, Azmin replied with a resounding “Mr u-turn”, again indicating his opinion of Khalid, who is also PKNS chairman.
While PKR leaders begin to question each other over the handling of the matter, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told a press conference on Thursday that Azmin’s removal from the PKNS board of directors was not valid.
It is learnt that those with intimate knowledge of the events that led to the issuance of a letter dated January 8th (SEE BELOW) informing Azmin of his termination have hinted that Othman had been instructed by Khalid to dismiss Azmin.
