SHAH ALAM: PKR’s attempt to remove Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim from the Selangor menteri besar post has received conflicting response from its allies.
While Selangor DAP was agreeable to PKR’s move, the state Pas leadership was against it.
Selangor Pas commissioner Iskandar Abdul Samad yesterday insisted that the party has never agreed to the proposal of removing Khalid and replacing him with PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
He said neither the party’s state or central leadership had endorsed the appointment of a female menteri besar before.
“During our previous meetings, we had made a decision to stand behind Khalid in this crisis.
“We had also expressed the stand that we never agreed to the proposal of replacing him in the first place.”
Iskandar, however, declined to comment when asked whether the Selangor Pas leadership would change their minds when the party central leadership meets for the opposition coalition’s presidential council meeting today to discuss the issue. He admitted that the final decision on the matter depends on the party’s central leadership.
Pas assistant secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said there was no final agreement between Pas leaders on the menteri besar tussle in Selangor.
“We will be discussing this among Pas national leaders tonight.”
Selangor DAP chairman Tony Pua on the other hand was not hesitant when he said that the party fully supported PKR’s decision and was firm in rejecting Khalid.
“Selangor Pas’s decision in disagreeing with Dr Wan Azizah’s appointment does not affect DAP’s stance in supporting this decision.”
PKR’s move to endorse Dr Wan Azizah to take over from Khalid was described by political analyst Associate Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian as the “Pakatan coalition’s lowest point” in the state.
The political analyst said that the endorsement was an attempt by the PKR leadership to pressure DAP, Pas and the Selangor palace to accept their decision to remove Khalid from his menteri besar post.
“(But) it will not be easy unless Khalid himself resigns. As the party’s election is a mess in itself, the factionalism within the party (caused by this endorsement) may even worsen,” Sivamurugan said.
The problematic PKR election process has now stretched for almost three months with the last branch re-elections held only on Aug 10.
After chairing the PKR supreme council meeting on Monday night, Anwar had announced that the party leadership had agreed that his wife, Dr Wan Azizah, was the “best person” to replace Khalid as menteri besar.
Selangor opposition leader Datuk Shamsuddin Lias insisted that the tussle for power between PKR factions would continue even if Dr Wan Azizah becomes menteri besar.
“We have to also ask ourselves whether Dr Wan Azizah will be a menteri besar who decides the state’s affairs on her own or is she just a proxy under the control of a puppet master we all know too well.”
Shamsuddin added that the latest development also affect the current power struggle within PKR.