Experts say Khalid will face challenges as independent MB

(Bernama) – Selangor Mentri Besar (MB) Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is expected to continue facing challenges if he continues with his stand not to give up the number one seat in the state.

Abdul Khalid, who rose politically after the Ijok by-election in 2007, will have to deal with the Selangor State Assembly, following his expulsion from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which helms the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government in Selangor.

He was first appointed as Selangor MB on March 13, 2008 and re-appointed in May 2013, after the PR coalition comprising PAS-PKR-DAP retained the state in the 13th general election.

Dean of the Law, Government and International Studies College at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Marthada Mohamed said Abdul Khalid would face problems in getting support from the majority of the assemblymen if he continued as MB in his capacity as an Independent state assemblyman.

“Although theoretically he could still be the MB, in practical terms, he will face a lot of difficulty administering the state because of problems from those who do not agree with him.

“The conflict has to be resolved, bearing in mind the long-term effects as it would be difficult for him to get two-thirds majority vote on motions of financial allocations or approval for state policies,” he told Bernama today.

At present, the current composition of the Selangor State Assembly after Abdul Khalid’s sacking from PKR is PAS (15), DAP (15), PKR (13), Barisan Nasional (BN) (12) and Independent (1).

Only PAS has thrown its support behind Khalid to remain as MB while DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today said the party supported the move to replace Abdul Khalid with PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

However, Ahmad Marthada said Abdul Khalid enjoyed strong support from the public who still wanted him to stay as they saw him as someone who was brave enough to go against the party leadership for the sake of the people, especially regarding the water issue. To date, he said there has been no criticisms from the people of Selangor on Abdul Khalid’s administration or any suggestion that a new MB be appointed, which indicates that they were happy with him.

“Even the PAS leadership has said there has not been any major issues during Abdul Khalid’s time, but the issue in PKR is a leadership matter.

“Issues like the claim that there was an agreement between Abdul Khalid and Bank Islam (on a loan settlement) or that he had ignored the party leadership when he signed the agreement with the Federal Government to resolve the water crisis are issues which are distant from the people,” he said.

As such, Ahmad Marthada said PR could risk losing several seats if a snap election was held because the people were tired of the prolonged political upheaval, especially between PR members.

Meanwhile, political analyst Associate Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian from Universiti Sains Malaysia said the lack of majority support for Abdul Khalid as MB would result in a leadership which was constantly faced with a confidence crisis.

“If all the DAP and PKR state assembly join forces, he would lose credibility as it is not enough to depend on PAS and BN. Unless there are still among PR who still support him,” he said.

Sivamurugan, who is the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Science, said Abdul Khalid had also to bear in mind that in the future, there would be allegations made by the PKR leadership against him if the party continued with its stand to make Dr Wan Azizah the new MB.

Sivamurugan also felt that even if Abdul Khalid resigned, the crisis would not be fully resolved because the clash between his supporters and those of PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would continue, since both enjoyed strong support.

“In fact, I would not be surprised if there is a new collaboration in PR arising out of the crisis in Selangor, because PAS’ decision to continue supporting Abdul Khalid would affect their relationship with their allies,” he said.

Asked if the next move would be for Abdul Khalid to join PAS, Sivamurugan said it was a choice but it would be a dilemma for PKR to accept him as an MB from another party.

“If Abdul Khalid joins PAS, it would give him some breathing space, but would PAS sacrifice its relationship with PR just to save Abdul Khalid?,” he asked.