Sacking of Khalid discussed at PKR meeting

Abdul Khalid Ibrahim may be sacked as a PKR member if he continues to cling on to his Selangor menteri besar post, a party insider said today.

The possible sacking of Khalid from the party was discussed at the PKR political bureau meeting at its headquarters in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya, last night, the source said.

"Although we see this as one of the ways to make Khalid vacate the post, it will look bad on the party," the source told Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity.

However when asked about this today, party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Malaysiakini there was no mention of the word "sacking" in the meeting's minutes.

Khalid's defiance to the request by PKR to vacate the post of menteri besar has irked PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who appears to be in a quandary now.

This is  especially so with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and the Islamic party's spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat expressing their support for Khalid to stay in his post.

The position taken by the PAS leadership has also opened the possibility of a split in Pakatan, although Anwar has dismissed this, saying there was no indication of this and that all the member parties were committed to the coalition’s spirit of cooperation.

Just before the Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebration, Anwar announced that his wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be new Selangor menteri besar, but this was not taken well by some factions within the party, even though no one defended Khalid to stay on.

The July 19 announcement came after an intense and heated meeting of the PKR leadership, including MPs and state assemblypersons from all over the country.

The source said last night’s meeting, which ended at midnight, also discussed putting up an alternative name for Khalid's replacement.

Azmin's name too comes in

The party, he said, would, besides Wan Azizah, propose another name as well for the post to the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council.

Gombak parliamentarian Azmin Ali, who is leading the race for the post of PKR deputy president, would be the other person the party would propose to its allies - DAP and PAS - so that the two parties can come to a decision on the matter in their respective central committee meetings on Aug 10.

The source said PAS would most likely accept Azmin, as the party has shown resistance toward putting up Wan Azizah as the head of the Sela gor government.

He said DAP leaders had no problem with either Wan Azizah or Azmin, as long as Khalid was replaced.

The source said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng's latest statement that all parties must first decide if they can accept a woman to be menteri besar showed the party was open to another candidate.

"The decision to name Azmin as an alternative is based on the fact that his name was proposed by seven people at the last special meeting PKR held at its headquarters before Hari Raya," the source said.

"One of the leaders who proposed Azmin's name is Penang PKR chief Mansor Othman, who is closest to Anwar in the northern region," the source added.

He said the party may not have a choice but to propose two names, in order to appease the various  factions in DAP, PKR and PAS that supports Azmin.

He added that these factions feel Azmin would be best to replace Khalid due to his loyalty to the party since 1998 - during the reformasi days - and due to his support from PKR grassroots especially in Selangor, considering his performance at the party's internal polls.

Azmin has remained in the lead for the deputy president post against Khalid and Saifuddin.

This group feels that Selangor needs an MB who can come out strongly against arch rival Umno, and that Azmin is the best person to do so as he has led Pakatan Rakyat to victory in the 2008 and 2013 general polls.

Azmin himself has been very quiet about the whole Selangor MB fiasco and has declined requests for interviews with the press.

However, it is learnt that Azmin, since he returned from a 10-day pilgrimage to Mecca, has held serious and private discussions with Anwar, DAP and PAS leaders to find a solution to the Selangor problem.

[More to follow]