HAVING stirred the hornet’s nest, PKR is facing an embarrassing situation after putting its president in a right royal predicament. The party’s de facto head had insisted that his wife, the PKR president, be named the sole candidate to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar (MB). Today, Khalid handed his resignation letter after having been sacked from PKR and stabbed in the back by Pas, thus losing his mandate. The sultan, back from an overseas trip earlier than scheduled to handle the political crisis, however, has deferred accepting the resignation, asking Khalid to stay until another MB has been chosen to replace him. At the same time, the sultan has requested for more names to enable him to exercise his prerogative, which can only mean the sole name submitted is unacceptable.
To ensure the sultan’s choice will be as broad as it is pithy, the Pakatan parties are asked to nominate at least three names each. At worst then, there will be a minimum of three candidates for His Majesty to choose from. In the event that each party submits three different names, then the sultan will have at his disposal nine alternatives. This means that the ball is in Pakatan’s court. Should they have the best interest of Selangor at heart, then the names fielded will be based on competence. Given that the personal agenda of the PKR leadership should have been put to rest, this should not be difficult. The commitment to uphold the pact by all three parties will necessarily mean that the nominated assemblymen must come from PKR. This is the most likely scenario if Pakatan intends to hold on to Selangor. Indeed, should the pact in Selangor collapse, in all likelihood, a state election will have to be called and, by then, the disillusioned voters should return the state to Barisan Nasional (BN).
At the end of the day, this political crisis — instigated by the personal agenda of the PKR leadership, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife — has demonstrated the party’s absolute disregard for the interests of the people and its obsession with a personality makes it more of a cult than a political party. The crisis, too, has shown up Pas for its inability to impose discipline on its members, leading to a loss of face for its top leadership, something that must sap public confidence in the party. DAP, meanwhile, is the party of opportunism, bedevilled by chauvinism but dishonestly parading as multi-ethnic. Worst of all, however, is the sense that the monarchy is being pushed to its very limits. And, for as long as the crisis persists, this last is the most vulnerable. Will Pakatan be willing to go along with Anwar, as they have until now, if he lets ambition get the better of him and opts for intransigence?