Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim may not be able to rest on his laurels solely on his tenacity, or work commitments made to prolong his tenure as Selangor menteri besar.
The PKR big guns last night, during its supreme council meeting have named party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as his replacement, in a move to enforce closure to the saga that has besieged Selangor’s administration since early this year.
The party has decided to put the “Kajang Move” into effect, although PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not the one who stood for the by-election which was famously engineered as Khalid’s ouster.
Khalid is expected to respond with a statement today. He was not even spotted at the meeting. Close aides say his hair has never looked so dishevelled after the announcement.
Dr Wan Azizah’s candidacy for the much-coveted post however did not pass muster among several conservative state Pas leaders, although it has been heavily hinted by Anwar after she won the Kajang by-election.
A woman menteri besar may be seen as alien to them as Sijangkang assemblyman from Pas and state executive councillor Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi have succinctly stated last week, that his party “has yet to reach a stage where it accepts a woman to lead the state’s administration”.
The appointment of Dr Wan Azizah could also, reignite accusations that she is indeed Anwar’s proxy or as has been crassly described as his “political pawn.”
Conversely, the political nature of her ascend to the menteri besar’s office could remedy the ongoing friction between the opposition coalition parties, or at least the strife within PKR, said Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Dr Muhammad Othman.
He suggested that no one would dare to go against a direct proxy of Anwar.
“She could mitigate any brewing animosity among party members or the administration in Selangor. But then again, it is obvious that she could be seen as Anwar’s messenger,” said the political scientist.
It is known by now that by going for the menteri besar post, this will be Dr Wan Azizah’s third venture to stand in for Anwar due to his political misadventures, after Permatang Pauh and Kajang.
By casual observation, Dr Wan Azizah does not employ the typical charismatic persona of a politician.
She is quite reserved, motherly and her voice shrills in public. Most of the time, she is easily agitated during media conference when pressed with hard questions.
Khalid’s chief rival, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali may not be too exuberant with the announcement.
Word has it that some Pas people would rather have Dr Wan Azizah than Azmin, over claims that he does not have the capability to run the office as “honestly” as Khalid.
However that remains as a perception. The truth is, state Pas leaders are indebted to Khalid over his recognition to appoint two of them in his state administration line-up.
Selangor Pas commissioner Iskandar Abdul Samad is the state Housing, Building Development and Squatters committee chairman while Dr Ahmad Yunus is in charge of the state Malay Customs, Infrastructure and Public Amenities and Youth and Sports committee.
Nevertheless, over the past few days, news broke that state Pas members have accepted the fact that Khalid would have to be replaced to maintain the Selangor opposition alliance’s rigidity.
The party insider, who fed the news to several agencies and media however could not ascertain whether the agreement was made grudgingly.
But Anwar would not want Khalid’s exit to be a political bloodbath. He too, have realised that Khalid has done so much to set the opposition coalition’s image in maintaining state finances to be spick and span since 2008.
Too much infighting have marred the coalition’s brand name in public. But the situation is dire; from the way he sees it, the alliance could be defused as long as Khalid remains at the top.
There is no clear reason as to why Khalid must be removed, even at this juncture. A source close to the party leadership has only mentioned that Khalid has refused to politically promote PKR using state resources.
As of a month ago, Khalid is still adamant to remain in office. The Selangor State Constitution 1959 Article 53 (6) states that “If the Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, then unless at his request His Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the state Executive Council.”
The term “shall” is often misinterpreted as “must”. Even if Khalid receives a round no-confidence votes against him, he is only expected to tender his resignation.
So far, there is nothing to stop him from going against the convention of expectation.