Khalid’s sacking allows PAS to agree to new Selangor MB, say sources

Some PAS leaders have reservations over having Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the Selangor Menteri Besar. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 11, 2014.

PKR's expulsion of rebellious Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has provided an escape clause for ally PAS, which has split over whether to stick with the two-term Selangor Menteri Besar or to submit to the demand to replace him.

The Islamist party has come to terms with Khalid's sacking, according to sources from the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact. The issue, however, is no longer about keeping him but their reservation over having PKR's choice, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, to lead Malaysia's richest state.

Before this, a segment of conservative leaders in PAS, led by its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, were adamant that Khalid be kept until his term in office ends.

Their stand had caused friction between PAS's partners PKR and DAP, who both want Khalid out over numerous complaints against the former corporate captain for running Selangor without consulting his party PKR, as well as the national PR leadership.

Khalid had also been criticised for his handling of issues such as the water crisis, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department's seizure of Bibles in Malay and Iban, and the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) which upset some PR leaders as it was seen as going against the pact's election manifesto to abolish tolled highways.

Despite acknowledging his expulsion, the Port Klang assemblyman had called his sacking "flawed and illegal", and vowed to remain as MB pending advice from the state ruler.

The Malay Rulers Advisory Council is scheduled to meet today to discuss the ongoing crisis in the state.

A senior PR leader told The Malaysian Insider that Khalid was no longer an issue with PAS.

"He has already been sacked and is no longer the legitimate MB. They have accepted the issue as the past.

"The question on who will be the MB is the issue," said the leader on the condition of anonymity.

Representatives from the Islamist party and the DAP had met over the weekend in Kuala Lumpur to strategise on how to handle the matter, which at one point threatened to tear apart the six-year-old coalition.

Both sides also agreed that Khalid was unlikely to quit his post until the coalition was able to present an acceptable candidate to the palace.

PKR is adamant that its president Dr Wan Azizah is the only candidate for the top post, a move which has received support from its ally DAP.

It was no secret that PAS itself is split on the issue of replacing Khalid with Dr Wan Azizah because of two reasons.

While having a female to head the state government does not sit well with several leaders, her ability to make decisions was also questioned as she is the wife of de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

This led to some leaders from PAS recommending PKR's Ijok assemblyman Dr Idris Ahmad as the compromise candidate, to break the deadlock over the MB post.

A senior PR official said the pact will name Dr Wan Azizah first but if the Sultan of Selangor rejects the proposal, the coalition will then name an alternative candidate.

Both PAS and DAP have 15 seats each in the state legislative assembly while PKR now has 13, following Khalid's sacking from the party on Saturday, which made him an independent. Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin Umno has 12 seats in the 56-seat legislative assembly.

- TMI