When DAP quarrelled with the Sultan regarding Mohd Arif
DAP wanted Mohd Arif appointed as the new Selangor State Secretary on 1st January 2011 but HRH the Sultan of Selangor refused to give his consent. And His Highness rejected Mohd Arif due to reasons involving lack of honesty and integrity. DAP then accused the Sultan of interference and reminded His Highness that the politicians and not the Sultan runs the state. The Sultan, however, still refused to back down and kowtow to DAP’s demands.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Mohd Arif Ab Rahman, DAP’s candidate for Selangor State Secretary whom HRH the Sultan rejected
“Sec-gen Mohd Arif, his two sons remanded in corruption probe,” said The Star on 5th January 2017 (READ HERE).
Mohd Arif Ab Rahman is the Secretary-General of the Rural and Regional Development Ministry. What is most interesting is that he used to be the Selangor State Financial Officer who, in 2010, DAP wanted promoted to the post of Selangor State Secretary.
HRH the Sultan of Selangor, however, refused and instead appointed Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the new Selangor State Secretary effective from 1st January 2011. This made DAP very angry and for about a month Selangor was engulfed in a Constitutional Crisis. DAP wanted Mohd Arif but the Sultan refused to appoint him as the State Secretary.
The Sultan chose Mohd Khusrin Munawi instead of DAP’s Mohd Arif
On 29th December 2010, Malaysiakini reported ‘Kelayakan Khusrin jadi SUK Selanggor dipertikai’, and the report said:
Kelayakan Datuk Khusrin Munawi sebagai setiausaha kerajaan (SUK) negeri Selangor yang baru, mula dipertikaikan, antaranya ekoran ‘kontroversi’ yang melingkarinya. Pengarah Komunikasi PKR Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad berkata, sikap Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) itu “yang seolah-olah ingin sabotaj” kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor selama ini hendaklah diambil kira.
Nik Nazmi joins the anti-Khusrin campaign
The fact that as the Selangor State Financial Officer Mohd Arif already had dirty hands and many people knew about it was perplexing to HRH the Sultan. DAP, too, knew that Mohd Arif was dirty and yet they wanted him to be promoted to the post of State Secretary. That can only mean DAP was also benefiting from whatever it was that Mohd Arif was doing.
As far back as 2009 there were already stories going around about the deal that Mohd Arif made with Pakatan Rakyat. It seems whatever deals they do, Mohd Arif gets half and half is given to the party. Initially, the suspect was Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim but then Khalid agreed with the Sultan that Mohd Arif should not be given the job of Selangor State Secretary.
Later, evidence began surfacing that it was not Khalid that Mohd Arif was dealing with but DAP. And Mohd Arif’s ‘agents’ in DAP were Teresa Kok and Tony Pua. In fact, there were many incidences when Teresa Kok and Tony Pua pressured Khalid to approve certain deals but the Menteri Besar stood his ground and refused to give in.
Once they even brought Nurul Izzah Anwar along hoping that she would be able to ‘soften’ Khalid but it did not work. Khalid still refused to approve the deals, mostly involving land. Khalid even questioned them as to why they are lobbying him on behalf of developers when the deal is not at all favourable to the state.
Tony Pua, with Teresa Kok, lobbied Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim on behalf of developers
One deal involved billions worth of Selangor state land. What Teresa Kok, Tony Pua and Nurul Izzah wanted Khalid to do is to approve it to a certain company on a 25-year repayment basis. Another company was prepared to pay a far higher price, and in cash instead of over 25-years.
When Khalid spoke to that company and informed them that their bid was not competitive, they told him that the offer was suggested by Teresa and Tony and they said that the Menteri Besar would agree to it. In fact, said the company, they were prepared to pay a higher price and match the competitor’s bid but they were told to offer the lower price and pay DAP the difference. They were also told that the people inside the Selangor Government, in particular the State Financial Officer, was with them and would support the offer when it goes to the EXCO meeting for approval.
Finally Mohd Arif has been caught. And this is the man who lined his pockets when he was the Selangor State Financial Officer. And this is the man who DAP wanted promoted to the post of Selangor State Secretary. And when HRH the Sultan refused to approve the promotion, DAP triggered a Constitution Crisis and told His Highness that it is the politicians and not the Sultan who runs the state.
