PKR rubbishes report on alternative Selangor MB candidate

(Malay Mail Online) – PKR leaders have dismissed a news portal’s report that the party was considering a candidate beyond party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as Selangor mentri besar.

Five senior leaders from PKR told Malay Mail Online today that the party was adamant on Dr Wan Azizah replacing Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as MB, and expressed confidence that the dissenting PAS would accept PKR’s nomination.

“No other candidate but Kak Wan,” said PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli, using Dr Wan Azizah’s nickname.

“PKR’s decision is final and is known to our Pakatan Rakyat (PR) colleagues. We are just waiting for PAS’ decision, which we are confident will be positive,” he added.

The Malaysian Insider reported today that an alternative PKR candidate has been identified for the Selangor MB post, ostensibly to resolve disagreement within PR over the nomination of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s wife for the job.

The news portal quoted an anonymous source as saying that the alternative PKR candidate could not be named until a consensus was reached between PKR, PAS and the DAP.

PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, vice-presidents Chua Tian Chang and N. Surendran, and political bureau member R. Sivarasa, all said there was no truth to the report.

“There’s no basis to that at all. Absolutely no basis. The decision is very clear — there’s only one candidate,” Sivarasa told Malay Mail Online.

The PR federal opposition pact was wracked by conflict and appeared to be on the brink of disintegration after PAS turned its back on a plan to replace Khalid with Dr Wan Azizah.

It is understood that all three parties had initially agreed to the plan — which Anwar later revealed was an extension of the controversial “Kajang Move” that paved the way for Dr Wan Azizah to take the Kajang state seat and qualify for the post.

The plan went into a disarray, however, after senior PAS leaders — including party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and influential spiritual advisor Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat — publicly backed Khalid, effectively retracting the party’s support for the proposed change to Selangor’s mentri besar.

PR’s presidential council is scheduled to meet again on August 10 to make a final decision on the issue.