No end to PKR crisis in Selangor
(Bernama) – The internal PKR crisis regarding the post of the Selangor Menteri Besar held by Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is actually becoming more serious with no amicable solution in sight.
Several political observers are of the opinion that the crisis will prolong even if the Menteri Besar is replaced by a popular PKR candidate.
The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Government and International Studies of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Assoc Prof Dr Ahmad Marthada Mohamed said this was because the crisis was due to the obsesssion of the party leaders to achieve their personal political interests.
“Previously, a crisis arose when the Gombak Member of Parliament, Mohamed Azmin Ali made a strong lobby to be the Menteri Besar and the ensuing conflict not only involved Abdul Khalid and Mohamed Azmin, but also the two camps which were supporting them respectively.
“Mohamed Azmin is seen to be more aligned to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while Abdul Khalid is closely associated with PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is touted to replace Khalid.
“Wan Azizah appears to be working towards a compromise with Abdul Khalid, but will the Mohamed Azmin camp be happy when Wan Azizah’s name had been proposed as the new Menteri Besar? I don’t think so, because Mohamed Azmin has a mission and will use various strategies to become Menteri Besar,” Ahmad Marthada told Bernama, here.
The turbulence brewing in the Selangor PKR began when the Bukit Antarabangsa Assemblyman was dropped from the Board of Directors of the Selangor State Economic Development Corporation (PKNS) which was allegedly planned by the Abdul Khalid camp to reduce the inlfuence of the PKR deputy president in the party election.
The crisis spread to become a polemic in the tussle for the Menteri Besar’s post and this was further aggravated by the ‘Langkah Kajang’ or ‘Kajang Move’ initiated by PKR Director of Strategy Rafizi Ramli in the Kajang by-election aimed at making Anwar as the new Selangor Menteri Besar.
Unfortunately, Anwar’s plan did not materialise when he failed to become a candidate for the Kajang state by-election following the court case he was facing, thus his wife, Wan Azizah was instead nominated for the seat and subsequently won with a reduced majority.
Anwar later wanted Wan Azizah to be made the new Menteri Besar with the support of the DAP, however, another coalition partner, PAS, disagreed with the plan and expressed their support for Abdul Khalid’s continuation as the Menteri Besar.
Ahmad Marthada said several young leaders aligned to Mohamed Azmin tried to raise various issues to tarnish Abdul Khalid’s credibility.
At a media conference in Petaling Jaya two days ago, PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the PKR would issue a note to clarify the relinquish the Menteri Besar’s post.
The note would expose in detail the doubts concerning Abdul Khalid’s integrity and discipline and the rationale in wanting to appoint PKR president Wan Azizah as the successor.
Ahmad Marthada said the prolonged polemic would result in the people of Selangor, who had given the mandate to PKR to administer the state, becoming the victims and their welfare as well as the pledges of the party to champion the people’s cause would be forgotten.
Today, the PKR Disciplinary Board issued a show-cause letter to Khalid for refusing to abide by the decision of the party’s Central Leadership Council (MPP) on the appointment of a new Selangor Menteri Besar.
Ahmad Marthada felt there was no reason for Abdul Khalid to comply with the call for him to step down because he had not done anything to violate the regulation and in fact the Menteri Besar had challenged Saifuddin to report to the authorities if there were any proof of malpractices and that his integrity as the Menteri Besar had been tarnished.
“There are two aspects why he should or should not step down. Firstly, there is no word from the Sultan of Selangor on his disagreement on Abdul Khalid’s leadership.
“Secondly, there is no word from the people of Selangor calling for his resignation, there is no referendum from the people, what we hear more often is the voice from the PKR party leadership,” he said.
Political analyst Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan said the PKR internal crisis could not be controlled by the party itself when the party leaders tried to look after their own personal interests without reaching any consensus.
“The party president and deputy president are keeping quiet on the issue. As political party leaders, they should be more efficient and quickly resolve the problem. But the problem will not be settled because the self-interest mentality had already been ingrained among the PKR leaders,” he said.
Zainal Abidin, who is the Yayasan Karyawan chief executive and editor-in-chief said the crisis was like another episode from a film played by the PKR members and the people were watching the drama.
