If new Selangor MB is ‘not a woman’, be prepared to face the same fate as Khalid

(Malaysian Digest) – With just 4 days to go before the official swearing-in ceremony already confirmed to take place on 23 September, 2014, attention has shifted onto the two most likely candidates to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, in the long running saga of the Selangor MB post.

However, according a political analyst, this crisis might not be over yet as whoever is named as the new Selangor MB might suffer the same fate as Abdul Khalid – either to be sacked from his own party or voted out of the post.

According to political analyst, Professor Dr. Ahmad Atory Hussain, if the new Selangor MB is not a woman (meaning Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah), that person must be prepared to face the disapproval of the ruling coalition in Selangor.

Professor Atory observed that the hot favorites as MB frontrunners appears to be Azmin Ali (PKR Vice-President) and Iskandar Samad (Selangor PAS Commissioner).

“Both candidates must be prepared to face opposition to their appointment whether it is being fired from the party (in the case of Azmin Ali) or to go through a state by-election.”

According to an online news portal report which quoted an unnamed Palace source as stating that the new Selangor MB ‘is not a woman’, this effectively means that PKR’s long and complicated campaign to make Wan Azizah the Selangor MB might not be realized.

Elaborating on this, Atory said that both PKR and DAP will have to comply with the palace’s decision in view of the Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah will make the final decision on who he feels is best qualified for the post.

However, Atory feels that there is a high probability of PKR and DAP reacting with dissatisfaction if Wan Azizah is not named the new Selangor MB.

They (DAP and PKR) might choose to express their dissatisfaction if Wan Azizah is not selected but they must channel their disagreement into appropriate channels, such as through a vote of no confidence.

“A vote of no confidence is permissable by law, as long as it does not represent a threat or security risk to the State,” said Atory.

Yesterday, the Selangor sultan’s private secretary, Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani had confirmed that the invitation card to attend the swearing-in ceremony is authentic and the ceremony is scheduled for 10am on Tuesday, 23 September 2014.

However, the name of the new Mentri Besar is not stated in the invitation card.