Zaid: Kajang move to crown Anwar as MB, not save Selangor

(MM) – PKR’s claim of a possible Barisan Nasional (BN) coup in Selangor is likely just a ruse to convince voters that the state needs Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as its new mentri besar, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said in a U-turn from his previous position.

Zaid, once a PKR member himself, said with Anwar now admitting the possibility of him becoming MB, it appears clear that this had been the plan from the start.

“How wrong I was to call on PAS and DAP to support Anwar’s candidacy, when all Anwar wanted was to be MB,” the politician wrote in a blog posting here.

Zaid had previously defended Anwar and PKR’s Kajang move, claiming it had not been born of the leader’s political ambitions but to save the prized Pakatan Rakyat-led (PR) state from total paralysis under the “uncontrollable” Khalid.

But Zaid said he changed his tune after Anwar’s admission that he is eyeing the MB post.

He pointed a finger at leader and PKR for allegedly hoodwinking Selangor voters into believing their intention was to save the state from a possible coup by BN.

“What is this song-and-dance about political challenges being so complicated and insurmountable that only Superman Anwar can resolve them?” the former Cabinet minister asked.

“What complex political games are threatening the life of the Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor?

“Unless Anwar and the coalition’s strategist Rafizi Ramli can explain in simple terms what these are, then I think they are obviously just a ruse,” he said.

Zaid insisted that there is no such political challenge to be mounted by BN in Selangor and no “web of intrigue” so convoluted that warrants the need for Anwar to take on the mentri besar’s post.

He pointed out that if Anwar’s standing as PKR de facto chief and “prime minister-in-waiting” are insufficient to deal with BN’s alleged machinations in Selangor, his position as mentri besar would not make a difference.

“I hope Anwar is man enough to declare that he will not be Mentri Besar, so people can believe what he had said about his entry as Selangor state assemblyman being necessary to deal with the political challenges in Selangor,” he said.

He said PAS and DAP should make the same public stand and declare they will not support Anwar’s move to be the next mentri besar, allowing Khalid’s continued administration of the state.

He reminded PR of the 2009 Perak crisis when their leaders raised hue and cry over the alleged coup by BN to topple the PR-led government, and the move to appoint a new Umno mentri besar with the Sultan’s consent.

At the time, the idea of replacing the mentri besar without a no-confidence vote in the state assembly appeared to be “offensive” to the PR pact, he said.

“Where are those high-minded principles about the sanctity of the MB’s position and the meaning of the people’s mandate, which they trumpeted so loudly during the Perak crisis?

“Obviously these issues do not matter when it comes to Anwar,” he said.

Zaid asked if PKR and Anwar have dutifully explained the problems with Khalid’s leadership to Selangor voters before unilaterally assuming he should be replaced.

He pointed out that regardless of what has been said about Khalid, the MB led PR to a thumping victory in the election in May last year.

“At least in Perak, the party responsible for the MB’s ouster was his political enemy; in Selangor, it is proving to be his (Khalid) own comrade-in-arms,” he added.