Wan Azizah not aware of plan to replace MB Khalid
(MM) – PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today denied knowledge of any plan to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor Mentri Besar.
Party insiders had previously told The Malay Mail Online that Khalid’s removal is imminent despite the setback triggered by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s disqualification from the Kajang state seat by-election.
“Khalid is the MB,” Wan Azizah, who now replaces her husband as PKR’s candidate for tomorrow’s polls, told reporters when pressed on the matter.
“No, I’m not aware,” she added.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, key party officials told The Malay Mail Online that top leaders in the three Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties are agreeable that Khalid must to step down as chief of the country’s wealthiest state.
They said Khalid’s arch rival, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, has been touted by party leaders as the replacement, and that the party is now working to convince PAS and DAP to agree to this proposal.
Party insiders claimed Khalid’s tendency to unilaterally make decisions in administering Selangor has stirred dissatisfaction among PR leaders, especially PKR leaders in Selangor.
Selangor executive councillor and Bukit Lanjan state assemblyman Elizabeth Wong also denied claims that there was ever talks to replace the current mentri besar.
“I am a Selangor exco and as far as I know there is no talk about changing the MB,” she told the same press conference.
It is understood that senior DAP and PAS leaders had objected an earlier plan to make Azmin the mentri besar, which brought about the ‘Kajang move’ in which the Kajang state seat was vacated to pave way for Anwar to take the post.
But insiders say the DAP will likely agree on Wan Azizah’s candidacy for the post, making PAS, which is also eyeing the job, the only obstacle in the three party alliance.
The Kajang by-election was triggered by the resignation of PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh who garnered a 6,824 majority votes against Barisan Nasional’s candidate in last year’s national polls.
