Khalid’s desperation is unbecoming

Clinging on to his post despite Wan Azizah having the support of the majority in the state assembly is making Khalid look desperate.

COMMENT

By Stephen Ng

There is only one word that describes embattled Selangor Menteri Besar (MB), Khalid Ibrahim after he was sacked by his party, PKR.

DESPERATE

The main reason, as I see it, is his defiance against the party. Having been a senior corporate man, Khalid should know that defiance is not acceptable, whether in a commercial or political organisation.

Khalid sacked the six Pakatan state Excos for the same reasons, although it was done in a more abrupt manner. Most of us who are watching the entire drama cannot help but ask why Khalid is so desperate to cling on to the post that was given to him.

He did not even earn it, but it was given to him as a steward or a manager, on behalf of the Pakatan coalition that won the State of Selangor in the last general election.

At this juncture, even after PAS decided it would back Wan Azizah as the candidate for the post, Khalid’s latest attempt to travel as far as Budapest, Hungary is again an act of desperation.

Why does he not wait till August 27 when the Sultan returns? If the Sultan can tarry, why can’t he? After all, he himself said this was the Sultan’s instruction, when Wan Azizah first received the support of 30 State Assemblymen.

It cannot be denied that there are reasons for Khalid to convince the Sultan to dissolve the assembly. The Selangor State Constitution is clear that, if Khalid as MB has lost the confidence of the assembly, the only person he can still turn to is the Sultan.

In my opinion, I do not believe the Sultan will allow himself to be dragged into disrepute because of one man’s desperation.

With an overwhelming majority Wan Azizah has commanded from the State Assembly, there is no reason for the Sultan to dissolve it.

To dissolve the assembly for the sake of one man will raise a lot of questions on the part of the palace, especially when the support from the assembly is overwhelmingly for Kak Wan.

The Sultan would also not want to complicate matters by rejecting a woman as MB of his state, because of the support already given to her.

Meanwhile, the objections we hear are mainly concentrated on Kak Wan’s lack of experience in running a state. However, when one refers to the Perak State Assembly or even the recent Terengganu crises, neither candidate for MB had the benefit of running a state previously.

The Selangor MB crisis has created many spin doctors who are trying to hit at the Pakatan state government. There are hidden hands working behind the scenes and in the war rooms to leverage on this crisis.

Out of the blue, someone posing as a young student, wrote a beautifully crafted letter challenging Selangor state speaker, Hannah Yeoh to state her stand.

In my opinion, the letter was meant to give her the boot, because apart from Khalid, the state speaker can also bring up the issue to the Sultan.

Now that a vote of no confidence is not even necessary due to the overwhelming support that Kak Wan has, Hannah can present the case before the wise Sultan so that the candidate with the highest support be appointed as the new MB.

At best, the objections against Hannah Yeoh stem from the fear that after the debut of DAP’s Diyana Yusof, Barisan Nasional is seen as archaic and totally irrelevant.

Who says a woman cannot be a better MB?

Kak Wan may be a woman, but her motherly nature commands a lot of respect especially from younger members of the State Assembly. This ‘strength’ should not be underestimated.

Let us wish Kak Wan our very best!

Malaysia has been waiting for the day when a woman MB is allowed to run the state.

Kak Wan, go for it!

Stephen Ng is a FMT reader