Selangor MB should stand up to Anwar and remain in post, says Utusan
(The Malaysian Insider) – Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia wants Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to stand up to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and remain as the state’s chief.
Awang Selamat, the pseudonym for the paper’s collective editorial voice, said more opposition leaders, including from within PKR, no longer feared the opposition leader as his grip on them is weakening.
“Anwar appears to be a liability to PKR and the opposition coalition.
“Thus, Awang is confident that Khalid will not quietly ride off into the sunset at Anwar’s behest,” Awang wrote in the weekend edition of the Mingguan Malaysia today.
Awang wrote that PKR could afford to lose Anwar, but there were bigger implications if Khalid were no longer in Selangor before his term was up.
However, Awang did not specify what the implications were.
Awang said on paper, Khalid had the support of the rakyat in Selangor; in fact, Khalid was more popular than Anwar, Wan Azizah and Azmin put together.
“From the viewpoint of integrity, reputation and moral leadership, Khalid is also streets ahead of the trio,” Awang wrote.
Awang said that Khalid had thus far refused to bow to pressure from PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the party deputy president Azmin Ali, to step down.
In his latest statement recently, Khalid vowed to continue in his position until his term ended in 2018.
“Khalid has also been more vocal in his criticism of Anwar,” Awang said.
