Khalid: They will have to be content with me!

Cynthia Blemin, fz.com

The irony is not lost on Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. He is being treated as a pariah in his own party but has the support of PAS and DAP.

The embattled Selangor mentri besar however is showing that he is his own man in a brief interview with The Edge this morning.

“I have no plans to step down as MB just yet.

“They will have to be content with me,” he remarked when asked on whether factions within PKR are unhappy with Abdul Khalid’s administration, noting that he does not dole out contracts to supporters.

“There should not be an element of an insider in business,” said Abdul Khalid, known for his no-nonsense style of administration.

Abdul Khalid is perhaps emboldened by the fact that he has PAS and DAP’s support, saying that they want him to serve out his term that ends with the next dissolution of the state assembly for the 14th general election in 2017 or 2018.

It is an open secret that these two coalition partners had insisted that Abdul Khalid become mentri besar instead of PKR’s preferred candidate, its deputy president and Anwar loyalist Azmin Ali.

Abdul Khalid was late for this interview at his office here as he had to join Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya to announce that the de-factor party leader will be standing in the Kajang state constituency by-election, following the resignation of Lee Chin Cheh yesterday.

He said Pakatan Rakyat has “no plans” for Anwar to take over from him.

Abdul Khalid said the reason why the party had nominated Anwar for the Kajang state seat is because he stood a better chance of winning the by-election.

He also noted that the appointment of Menteri Besar is also dependent on consent of the Sultan.

“There is no intention to discuss on the matter (with the Sultan) and we do not want to get to that point,” he added.