Anwar on razor’s edge for royal consent?
With his first hurdle (Kajang) cleared, Anwar will then have to clear a second hurdle, which is getting Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s consent to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor Menteri Besar.
V Shankar Ganesh and Patrick Sennyah
While most of the focus over the next two weeks will be on the Kajang state by-election, there is also plenty of interest on what transpires post-Kajang.
Assuming Parti Keadilan Rakyat de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wins in Kajang, what ensues next will be a battle royale showcasing Malaysian politics at its peak.
If this political tussle is unresolved, it could well lead to a Selangor constitutional crisis, somewhat similar to the Perak crisis in 2009.
With his first hurdle (Kajang) cleared, Anwar will then have to clear a second hurdle, which is getting Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s consent to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor Menteri Besar.
However, Anwar realises that this second hurdle is an even bigger one compared to the first one.
Why so?
From whispers along the corridors of the palace and the state government offices, it is believed that the issues at hand surround matters that unfolded when Anwar was Umno’s rising star in the 1990s.
Certain incidents that took place in Selangor when the state was led by then Menteri Besar Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib had earned the ire of the palace then.
The Selangor ruler then was the late Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.
It seems Anwar had been abrasive in his dealings then and Sultan Sharafuddin’s dislike for the PKR leader is believed to stem from there.
Obviously Anwar realises this and has since been trying to build bridges to rectify this.
It is believed that he had tried using other royalties and businessmen known to the Sultan, to try and convince the ruler to consent to him becoming the Menteri Besar.
However it is reliably learnt that these attempts fell flat as the Sultan recently issued a statement forbidding any royalty from getting involved in the Kajang by-election.
His statement was unprecedented and it could have stemmed from moves to convince him to support Anwar.
Despite Sultan Sharafuddin making a public stand that the palace must be above politics, PKR leaders have privately lamented that Umno had surrounded the Sultan with their advisers.
However Khalid is believed to enjoy a good relationship with the Sultan and it is quite clear that the Sultan will be hard pressed to decide between Khalid and Anwar.
It may be a smooth transition if Khalid resigns and Anwar meets the Sultan saying he has the support of the majority of assemblymen to be the Menteri Besar.
Though he may dislike Anwar, the Sultan may not want to trigger a crisis by refusing him.
What if the Sultan decides to reject Anwar?
There are certainly precedents to this as what happened in Perlis and Terengganu before, where the Sultans rejected the Barisan Nasional’s choice of candidate and instead chose their own candidate.
If Sultans can defy the all-powerful Barisan Nasional, why not the Pakatan Rakyat?
It is learnt that PKR wants Khalid to pre-sign his resignation letter by March 11, which is the nomination day but he has not shown any signs of doing so until now.
What can the party do if Khalid continues to refuse?
If Anwar sees the Sultan and shows him the support he has, the Sultan will be reluctant to declare him as the Menteri Besar as long as Khalid has not resigned.
This is because by doing so it will mean that the Sultan is getting involved in the internal problems of a political party.
It is something that no royal institution wants to be seen doing.
At the same time, the Sultan will need to resolve the problem and not let the State government be in a limbo.
But it seems that as a master tactician and seasoned politician, Anwar and the PKR may already have a back-up plan in place.
Selangor’s Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) has already scheduled a two-day hearing on the events related to the sacking of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali from the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS).
The hearing would also discuss the dismissal of 22 contractual employees from PKNS.
It will be held on March 25 and 26, just two days after the by-election, and it will be chaired by State speaker Hannah Yeoh from the DAP.
It is interesting to note that Yeoh had caught Khalid by surprise when she announced the resignation of Kajang assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh.
Khalid only learnt of the resignation from media reports.
The Selcat hearing may present a golden chance to pin the blame on Khalid over the PKNS saga and then force him to resign.
Khalid is expected to be called to testify and it could end with a verdict that Khalid was responsible for the fiasco.
In that scenario, PKR can force Khalid to resign as after all Selcat was formed under his administration and ignoring its findings will severely diminish his credibility.
If PKR manages to get Khalid to resign, Anwar may then have an unhindered ascent to the coveted Menteri Besar’s post.
However, if Khalid still refuses to resign, he could use his trump card and call for a dissolution of the state assembly with the Sultan’s consent.
As it stands now, the situation is Selangor is akin to a high stakes game which could go either way.
