Khalid must go, but pundits split over Wan Azizah as MB

By admin-s Last updated Aug 5, 2014

(MMO) – Observers concur that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim must exit the Selangor mentri besar’s office now that his party has sent a clear signal, but diverged over PKR’s choice of Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, with one analyst calling her the “worst possible candidate” to head Malaysia’s richest state.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive officer at Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, pointed out Khalid gained his position because his party elected him twice — the first time after Election 2008 when he was a greenhorn politician, and again last year — which meant PKR also has the right to ask him to step down from office.

“If you want to join party politics, like what Tan Sri Khalid has done, he should abide by his party’s decision,” the think tank chief told some 100 people who turned up for a public talk on ‘The Selangor MB Crisis and the Ways Forward’ at the KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.

Worst possible candidate

Wan Saiful however, said Dr Wan Azizah, who is married to PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was the “worst possible candidate” to be Khalid’s replacement due to the concentration of power within the family.

“In my mind, she would make a good MB, I have no problem with her personally.

“But to put her while she is still the wife of Anwar Ibrahim smacks of cronyism, nepotism, corruption, everything that Pakatan is supposed to be fighting against.

“It also shows desperation as if PKR does not have another candidate,” he said.

He suggested that PKR and DAP should consider nominating a PAS state assemblyman, warning that if PKR stuck with Dr Wan Azizah, the party was effectively arming political foe Umno with “ammunition” that could take down the party and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal opposition pact at the next general elections.

Nepotism acceptable?

Wong Chin Huat, a fellow at the Penang Institute countered Wan Saiful’s argument, saying the priority is to strengthen the party, if the ultimate goal is to prove it could be a viable alternative to the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition at the federal level.

He said it was crucial to have a “captain that is accepted by everyone” if the pact wanted to win the contest in the long run.

Using a sports analogy, he added that the leader’s skill need not be as polished as long as the person was able to inspire the other team members to be strong and score.

“And if nepotism is what it needs to be a stronger party, so be it,” Wong said.

Wan Saiful however pointed out that by accepting Dr Wan Azizah as the candidate for the MB post out of necessity, the public accepts there will be external forces that will influence her decision, whether through the set-up of a committee to supervise and guide her decisions, or embodied in one person, notably her husband Anwar.

“I have a problem with the idea that she may not be an independent decision maker at such a high position.