Not proper for Anwar to pre-empt Azmin
Of course this also brings forth another problem with consensus, for if the MB post for PKR must be a consensus that all three Pakatan components must agree too, shouldn’t all decisions on instructions to be given to the MB be on consensus too?
Hazlan Zakaria, The Ant Daily
It is improper and outside of decorum for PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to make statement about what or how things are going to be in Selangor, for doing so would pre-empt and discredit his party’s “chosen” MB Azmin Ali.
An MB of a state is like a sea captain on a voyage, both master and commander of his vessel. His word is law and wishes are orders. But there can be only one captain on the quarterdeck of any ship just as there can be only one menteri besar or chief minister in a state.
There should not be an unelected de facto state chief executive while the MB is in office, though perhaps in some parties an unelected de facto leader can have more say than the elected president.
Anwar may have denied “giving orders” to Azmin, but the tone of his recent statements were clear, he was indicating that the MB was going to solve issues which he was talking about.
As with everything else in politics, it is about perception and as MB, Azmin must be seen to be in charge and not just in charge. Any more talk on what he should or must do by Anwar will only undermine his authority.
Whether it is about the alleged lack of transparency during former MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s tenure or the tuition fees of Unisel students, those are issues which if he so wanted to talk on, Azmin can do so on his own, thank you very much.
There is no need for Anwar to talk to the media about what he thinks should be done, unless it is true that he is giving instructions as to how the new MB should run the state.
As economic adviser, Anwar’s job is to advise Azmin and the state in private, whispering into their ears, not decide the course for them and announcing it to the world, certainly not on matters that is above and beyond his billet on economic affairs.
Granted that he is the de facto leader of PKR, but he is not the MB, nor by proxy. At least we should all hope so. For if his wife PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail does not mind being his “puppet”, Azmin already said that his strings are not being pulled by anyone.
In the words of former MCA president Tan Sri Dr Chua Soi Lek as quoted in news reports, Azmin should “show Anwar who is boss”.
One can’t help but wonder if this was why they had to get rid of Khalid as he was less likely to respond to such coercion. Is this why Anwar wanted Wan Azizah as MB? And is this why he is shooting his mouth on what Azmin should be doing?
Speculations have been rife that after failing to get himself elected as Kajang assemblyperson and subsequently as MB, Anwar was thinking of running the state via Wan Azizah.
And it seems like this may be true if the way he is talking about what Azmin should be doing is any indication.
Of course this also brings forth another problem with consensus, for if the MB post for PKR must be a consensus that all three Pakatan components must agree too, shouldn’t all decisions on instructions to be given to the MB be on consensus too?
