Legitimacy as Selangor MB over, Husam tells Khalid

PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa in an open letter told embattled Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim that his legitimacy as Selangor menteri besar is over. – The Malaysian Insider pic, August 15, 2014.

Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's legitimacy as Selangor menteri besar is over, PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa wrote in an open letter to the embattled leader today, although the Islamist party has yet to make an official stand on the issue.

Husam said that Khalid's hope to get another Selangor lawmaker to join his side has ended after Batu Tiga assemblywoman Rodziah Ismail quit as state executive councillor to join her PKR colleagues in repudiating the menteri besar's leadership.

"What more when two PAS assemblymen took their personal step to reject Tan Sri as a menteri besar openly," he said in the open letter made available to The Malaysian Insider.

Khalid is running the Selangor government with the help of four PAS executive councillors and support from the 12 Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblymen in the 56-seat state legislature.

PAS has 15 assemblymen in the legislature, but two have now joined the 13 PKR lawmakers and 15 DAP lawmakers to support PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the new menteri besar for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had openly backed Khalid to remain as menteri besar but the party's central working committee will only meet this Sunday to finalise its decision, which must be ratified by the party's Shura council.

Another vice-president Salahuddin Ayub yesterday said the Islamist party has delayed its decision as changing a state menteri besar is not as simple as replacing a village chief.

But PKR had signalled to its PR allies PAS and DAP on July 23 that it wanted to replace Khalid. The PR leadership meeting on that day agreed that PKR can keep the MB post and that the allies would consider Dr Wan Azizah's candidature for the post.

DAP has agreed to Dr Wan Azizah taking over the post in the country's wealthiest state but PAS has objected, although saying it went beyond the issue of gender.

MORE TO COME

- TMI