Moves by PKR desperados to oust MB Khalid?

Alyaa Alhadjri, The Ant Daily

Any moves from quarters within PKR who are adamant to show Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim the door are merely exposing their own desperation for power and further tarnishing the party’s image.

The latest attempt to put pressure on Khalid to vacate his position involved the circulation of a message via social media Whatsapp last night, quoting alleged unnamed “media” sources, claiming that Khalid was expected to meet with Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah at 9am this morning (July 7) to tender his resignation.

Another message claiming that Khalid has tendered his resignation this morning was attributed to Bernama but this was also denied by the national news agency.

The same message also claimed that Selangor exco and Chempaka assemblyman Iskandar Abdul Samad would be sworn in as the new menteri besar to replace Khalid in a ceremony to be held at 2pm today.

The initial rumour was quickly put to rest by Khalid’s aides who were contacted for verification but it didn’t stop some media organisations from sending their reporters to standby at several locations, including the Istana Kayangan in Shah Alam and Istana Alam Shah in Klang, “just in case”.

With PKR already taking disciplinary actions against its members who have been speaking out against Khalid or the ongoing party elections, these quarters may be forced to adopt a more covert approach in running him down.

To abuse the media’s name in their quest to further a personal political agenda is clearly an irresponsible act that must be condemned, despite Khalid himself being unperturbed by such rumours.

Online portal Malaysiakini today reported Khalid as once again laughing off the rumours of his imminent resignation, describing it as a “waste of time”.

“That (my resignation) is not true. I am just done with a meeting and will be having another meeting after this.

“Never mind, these people spreading the rumours are wasting their time,” said Khalid when met by reporters at the state secretariat building this afternoon.

It is believed that the initial rumour was started by factions aligned to Khalid’s rivals in the PKR deputy presidency race but the Port Klang assemblyman once again reportedly laughed when asked for his comment.

“It is okay … I can’t lie during the Ramadan month,” he said.

It is an open secret that Khalid is facing an uphill battle to defend his position as Selangor menteri besar and to defeat incumbent PKR president Azmin Ali in the three-cornered race, a situation made worse when the challenge also came from his own Pakatan Rakyat and PKR colleagues.

Khalid’s handling or alleged mishandling of various issues in Selangor has been used as ammunitions by his political rivals to shoot down his administration.

Despite having been slapped with a show-cause letter for his earlier statements, PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin was today quoted by news channel Astro Awani as firing yet another salvo at Khalid, insisting that the party’s central leadership council meeting on Jan 15 had approved a motion to remove the menteri besar from his position.

“The people of Selangor have chosen Keadilan and Pakatan Rakyat not because of Tan Sri Khalid but based on their confidence in the collective agenda and manifesto offered,” the Bukit Katil MP reportedly said.

The claim was first reported by Chinese daily Sin Chew on Jan 22, quoting sources from the said meeting, but it was refuted by PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution.

Theantdaily had in a Jan 23 report headlined “Sabotage in PKR: Anti-Khalid group leaks meeting recordings to media” also quoted Saifuddin as saying that there were only three or four council members (from the total 55) who had voiced the “extreme” opinion that Khalid should be sacked for his mismanagement of certain issues in the state.

The matter was then investigated as a serious breach of party discipline by those who had allegedly leaked a recording of the meeting to the media.

PKR is already suffering from an image problem due to its own inability to resolve the many irregularities reported throughout the ongoing internal polls.

In their quest to bring down Khalid, the persons responsible would do well to consider whether their actions could backfire and trigger the downfall of PKR as a whole.