Selangor MB crisis: PAS issues gag order

(The Star) – PAS has issued a gag order on members over the ongoing crisis involving the Selangor mentri besar.

Secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said members should be patient and wait for the party’s decision after the central committee meeting on Aug 10.

“Stop all statements or discussion. Some of these reactions are against the spirit of debate and not in tune with the ethics of differing opinions and creates a bad perception about the party,” he was quoted in Harakah Daily.

He also called on the party’s leaders not to personally attack each other and to respect the spirit of debate.

“Different opinions should be geared and managed in accordance with the conduct of our party.

“We have appropriate channels in the party and opinions can be voiced using those channels,” he said.

His comments came after a WhatsApp message about the possible scenarios of PAS leaving the Pakatan Rakyat coalition became public.

The Selangor mentri besar crisis has been dragging on for months, ever since the Kajang Move was engineered as part of a strategy to remove Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim from the post early this year.

The Kajang Move led to the Kajang by-election which PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail won. Since then she has been tipped to take over Khalid.

But Khalid has remained adamant in not leaving. He has been under intense pressure to give up his post by his party colleagues following a barrage of criticism thrown at him over his handling of various issues in the state.

It was reported that PKR had backed Dr Wan Azizah for the post, but Khalid had said that he would continue to lead the state until official procedures to unseat him were followed.