Khalid Ibrahim: You can’t make everybody happy

(The Star) – Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (pic) says he remains unfazed by calls for him to step aside as it is not his duty to make everyone happy.

Responding to a report that state PAS leaders want him to resign over his weak handling of problems in the state, Khalid said unhappiness was to be expected when dealing with sensitive issues.

“Unhappiness is quite common when dealing with a sensitive issue, but my job is not to satisfy everyone, it is to make sure that things run smoothly and according to the rule of law.

“I accept that in the political arena, job security can be quite uncertain, unlike when I was in the corporate sector. However, I take it as a challenge and a responsibility,” he told reporters here on Saturday.

On Friday, a news portal quoted Selangor PAS election chief Jaafar Sulaiman calling for Khalid to be replaced as he had not consulted the party on important issues in the state.

He told the portal that the MB’s weaknesses in dealing with the seizure of bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), the Kidex highway, and water concessionaires’ takeover had prompted the Islamic party to seek a more qualified candidate to run the state.

However, Jaafar later claimed he was misquoted in the report, and said he would contemplate suing the online portal.

Meanwhile, Khalid said the state government, Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and Islamic Religious Council (Mais) would adhere to the Sultan’s decree on the bible issue and work together so that it could be resolved swiftly and through the proper legal channels.