Khalid in the driver’s seat now
The backing of top PAS leaders has strengthened Khalid Ibrahim’s position as the Menteri Besar and put PKR in a delicate situation
Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today
Selangor Menteri Besar (MB) Khalid Ibrahim is fighting back to entrench himself firmly in his position, thus causing a head-to-head conflict with his own party, PKR, which wants Kajang assemblywoman Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take over the post.
PAS president ustaz Hadi Awang, Kelantan MB Ahmad Yakob and the party’s spiritual adviser Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat have come out strongly backing Khalid.
This has definitely consolidated Khalid’s position because in PAS there is the concept of “obey the leader” (walaq), which means all 15 PAS assemblymen have no choice but to back Khalid.
The three top PAS leaders say there is no valid reason whatsoever to boot out Khalid because he is a clean and thrifty administrator.
This puts Dr. Wan Azizah at a disadvantage because with Speaker Hannah Yeoh of DAP not voting and Khalid voting for himself (being the Port Klang assemblyman), he has enough votes to stay on as the MB should a vote of no-confidence be tabled at the Selangor state legislative assembly as Barisan Nasional assemblymen will also be voting in his favour.
To put it simply, Khalid’s position is solid now.
However, someone in PAS is trying to help Dr. Wan Azizah. This PAS man is currently working very hard behind the scenes to influence PAS assemblymen to vote out Khalid.
This PAS man and deputy president Mohamad Sabu are backing Dr. Wan Azizah. However they are working against the tide as they do not have much clout compared to the three top leaders.
The whole scenario paints a grim picture for Dr. Wan Azizah.
But when queried on whether PKR has failed in its attempt to replace Khalid, Selayang PKR MP William Leong said: “No, we have not failed and will proceed with our plan.”
The situation is turning acrimonious as both PKR and Khalid are determined to stay the course.
Many in PKR are furious with Khalid’s obstinacy as he will be given a post after he steps down, which means he will not be quitting empty-handed.
“It is not as if he will end up with nothing,” remarked a PKR journalist, adding that Khalid’s stubbornness is unreasonable and unjustifiable.
