Anwar, Azmin not qualified to be MB
Khalid was born in the Selangor town of Jeram.
By Reena Raj, The Malay Mail
All eyes will be on the Selangor mentri besar’s post tomorrow as talks of a possible new face emerging to take charge of the nation’s richest state.
Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has denied claims he agreed to make way for PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to run Selangor.
However, the resignation of PKR Kajang assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh raised a poser, as party insiders claim it was a move to get Anwar, who is Permatang Pauh MP, into the frame by way of a by-election.
Such aspirations, however, may be dented through a state unwritten rule, according to which any person intending to occupy the mentri besar’s seat has to be a born in Selangor.
Article 51 (2) of the Selangor State Constitution states that the mentri besar must be a Malay-Muslim and the appointment of the mentri besar must receive consent of the Sultan.
Although the state constitution does not spell out that the mentri besar must be Selangor-born, it is unlikely the state will break from tradition, because all previous mentris besar were born in Selangor.
For the record, Anwar was born in Cherok Tok Kun, Penang, while Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman Azmin Ali, who was earlier tipped to succeed Khalid, was born in Singapore.
“It is highly unlikely that Anwar or Azmin will be picked to head the state because history has showed that only a true blue Selangorian should be picked,” said a party insider.
“The candidate must also be someone who will be accepted by the palace,” the source said.
Another PKR insider said, changes in the Selangor leadership will take place in a timely manner.
“This was expected, it was just a matter of time of what was the first step,” he said.
The source said, there has been dissatisfaction within PR assemblymen in the state, because Khalid has all this while been adamant about having things done ʻhis wayʼ.
Khalid, who is the Port Klang assemblyman, had allegedly been making decisions without consensus from DAP and PAS assemblyman during his time in office.
“However, the majority of DAP and PAS representatives in the state are not in favour of the way in which Azmin played up issues to paint a negative image of the state government under Khalidʼs leadership, with particular regard to the PKNS fiasco.
The source also said that the move to get Anwar to lead the state would be the only way to keep Azmin in check.
The relationship between Khalid and Azmin has always been frosty, because Azmin, often labelled as Anwarʼs ʻblue-eyed boyʼ, was not picked as mentri besar in 2013.
The ill-feelings between Khalid and Azmin deepened after Azmin was axed from the board of the Selangor State Development Corporation recently.
