One more hurdle in Selangor MB crisis
In an immediate reaction, political pundits say the next step for the Pakatan Rakyat would be getting the Selangor Sultan to agree with their pick, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s wife, as Selangor Menteri Besar. — TRP pic by Daniel Chan
(The Rakyat Post) – Political pundits finally see an end in sight for the Menteri Besar crisis in Selangor now that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has closed ranks on the matter, unanimously turning their backs on Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
However, they said the next step would be getting the Sultan to agree with their pick, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, to replace him.
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan was unimpressed with PR’s decision, but conceded that it was theirs to make.
“If that’s the decision by the council, the priority now is to get the issue of the Menteri Besar sorted out as quickly as possible
“I still feel this is the wrong candidate for PR to nominate because there is absolutely no way everyone will see Dr Wan Azizah as an independent Menteri Besar.
“She will always be seen as the proxy Menteri Besar and that is bad for the state, especially for a state like Selangor.”
However, he said that since they had made their bed, they had better hurry up and lie down in it.
“If that is the decision made by the PR council, then the priority is to move ahead and take that name to the palace and get the Sultan to agree with it.
“Then the public can judge them for the decision they have made.
“If we don’t like that decision, then come the next general election, we will decide accordingly,” said Wan Saiful.
Political scientist Wong Chin Huat, from the Penang Institute, said reaching such an agreement was better late than never for the coalition.
“I think PR now has come to both a consensus and their senses. This should have been worked out much earlier to avoid all this, but it has finally happened,” he said.
By agreeing on one candidate, leaving Abdul Khalid a man apart and keeping the coalition together, Wong said PR had made the matter an internal issue, keeping snap polls at bay.
“After all this brouhaha, Pakatan stayed in one piece.
“By parliamentary conventions in democracy, the question of a vote of no confidence or fresh polls should not apply. Abdul Khalid should just go,” he said.
However, he stressed that this was not according to law, but parliamentary conventions based on the Westminster system of government, which are aspired to in Malaysia.
National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, when asked on the matter, simply replied that this could be the end of the matter, barring one final hurdle.
“I hope this will bring a quick closure to the Selangor Menteri Besar crisis.
