Nightmare not over for Pakatan as Khalid mulls snap polls option

By admin-s On Aug 20, 2014

(MMO) – Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is said to be weighing a state election to resolve his loss of the confidence its lawmakers, a move that will force Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to face the wrath of an electorate unimpressed by its self-induced crisis.

Sources privy to developments in the Selangor mentri besar imbroglio told Malay Mail Online that Khalid, who is due to meet the Selangor Sultan upon the latter’s return from abroad on August 27, may seek to dissolve the state assembly rather than resign.

The move would further wound the PR pact that is already “badly injured” by public spats on the issue, and scupper hopes for an uneventful transition in the Selangor government to allow PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take the helm.

One official from Khalid’s office said, however, that the mentri besar’s next move is contingent on how the Sultan desires to end the protracted crisis.

“Yes, it’s an option (to seek dissolution), but this is dependent on what the Sultan says after Khalid meets him,” the source told Malay Mail Online on condition of anonymity.

The Sultan last week gave his consent for Khalid to remain as MB after he convinced the ruler he still commanded the confidence of the majority of Selangor’s lawmakers despite being sacked from PKR.

He based this on the unconditional support of 12 Barisan Nasional (BN) state lawmakers and the implied backing of those from PAS after the Islamist party’s leaders publicly said he should stay.

Khalid has since lost this after the leaders of all three PR parties DAP, PKR and PAS agreed to nominate Dr Wan Azizah as Khalid’s successor and demonstrated Khalid’s loss of the confidence of the majority of the 56-seat Selangor legislative assembly.

But PAS’s earlier delay has drawn vitriolic accusations of betrayal from its allies, further straining ties already tested by fundamental ideological differences and inviting questions over the pact’s continued viability.

Khalid has also refused to acknowledge the apparent loss of confidence in his leadership among the majority of state lawmakers, saying this could only be conveyed via a vote of no-confidence in the Selangor assembly.

Despite this, however, several leaders in PR claimed it was unlikely that the ruler would agree for the protracted crisis to be settled via a fresh mandate from the public.