Despite Selangor Sultan’s backing, Anwar maintains Khalid’s deals ‘dubious’
(Malay Mail Online) – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim insisted again today that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had entered into “dubious” agreements during his tenure as Selangor mentri besar, even after the former was defended by the Selangor Sultan as a good administrator.
The PKR de facto chief said Khalid had “fast-tracked” and engaged in “secretive” agreements when he was mentri besar, including the state’s controversial water industry restructuring agreement with Putrajaya.
“I merely said we need to understand in a transparent manner who were awarded these contracts and who were the beneficiaries. I’m not casting any aspersions,” he told reporters after speaking at a forum organised by Universiti Selangor (UniSel).
Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had defended Khalid in a public speech last week, insisting the embattled leader is victim of a smear campaign by his own party.
Using his speech to attack Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the Sultan said Khalid had executed the duties of a mentri besar “successfully and perfectly”.
Despite the backlash, Anwar insisted that the comment was merely “a personal opinion” of the state ruler.
He also repeated his request to newly-installed Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali to review his predecessor’s so-called problematic deals.
“I want to know who got these projects, the profit reaped and if the profit exceeded the valuation and if the project will burden people of Selangor,” he said.
Among the deals that will come under scrutiny is the water restructuring exercise that Khalid finalised in the last days of his administration and the approval given to Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex).
“These are issues that need to be addressed and then you will know if the state administration observe the true principles of good governance,” said Anwar.
The federal opposition leader urged the state to get to the bottom of deal, in which Anwar claims companies were raking in millions in profits.
Earlier this month, Khalid cemented Selangor’s water deal with Putrajaya, allowing the state to take over the existing concessionaires and pave way for the federal government to build the Langat 2 treatment plant previously opposed by PR.
The water restructuring plan and the Langat 2 project were among the reasons given by PKR in its ultimately unsuccessful bid to replace Khalid with its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
PKR had earlier accused Khalid of proceeding with the deal unilaterally, and claimed that he neglected proper consultation with the party and the state executive council.
Azmin previously pledged to revisit the water restructuring agreement, among other deals inked by the previous Khalid administration, but it is unclear if he will have any option other than to honour the contract.
The allegations against Khalid in the water restructuring were also among the subjects of the former mentri besar’s defamation lawsuits against PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution.
