Sad Selangor Saga

From Malaysia-Today's SELANGOR PALACE ‘NOT AMUSED’, HIRES LAWYERS TO LOOK OVER MB SAGA

Asked if the palace had instructed a legal team to look into the fiasco, the source said: “Yes, lawyers have been approached. It was a similar situation in 2008 (after the general election) when Pakatan Rakyat took over Selangor.

“Tuanku had then met PAS, PKR and DAP separately and they had all agreed that Khalid become the mentri besar.”

That was true in March 2008 when the BN ruled Selangor State fell unexpectedly to Pakatan. Then HRH was concerned that Pakatan, a loose coalition, might not be able to remain cohesive and govern the state for the full term. He interviewed a number of PKR, PAS and DAP leaders before he gave his royal consent to a Pakatan state government which nominated Khalid Ibrahim as the new state MB.

But I believe such an extraordinary and rigorous royal scrutiny did not take place in 2013 when Pakatan not only renewed its mandate but increased its majority.

DAP and PAS and in general most of PKR supported the continuation of Khalid Ibrahim as MB. Presumably, following the 2013 state elections, HRH must have viewed the victorious Pakatan coalition, then without the topsy turvy discord it suffers from today, as a stable continuation of the 2008 arrangements.

Malaysia-Today continued: 

Pakatan Rakyat leaders are expected to meet on Sunday and will most likely discuss the mentri besar crisis. Asked about the palace’s stand if Pakatan leaders would agree to replacing Khalid, the sources said: “We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”

“But would Khalid step down without giving a fight?”

In recent times, what with the humiliating Kajang Move for Khalid Ibrahim (following a series of spates between Khalid and Azmin Ali), things in Pakatan aren't so rosy cozy as it had been during its first term in state rule following the 2008 general elections and immediately after the 2013 state elections.

even Ambiga Sreenevasan questioned PKR's political fooling around

Lately PKR and DAP wants Khalid to leave but more importantly, we need to remember that Khalid Ibrahim is a PKR member and thus a PKR nominee as state MB, a post agreed by its Pakatan allies as PKR's due (in a coalition sharing formula with Kelantan as the PAS domain and Penang the DAP domain).

The point is PKR now wants Khalid to leave the MB position, thus by default withdrawing party support for and its nomination of Khalid as MB.

But Khalid has embarrassingly refused to obey his own party instructions. There is no known political precedent for a MB or CM who has not been supported by his or her own party. There is no such political creature, which has been why I have termed a thick-skinned obdurate Khalid Ibrahim as a rare (or non-existent) unicorn or chimera.

Thanks to PAS who has no clue as to Westminster democracy or who doesn't give a sh*t about it (so we better watch out), its boss Pak Haji Hadi Awang has added to the muddy waters by presumptuously supporting Khalid, a member of another Pakatan party, in the latter's stubborn, silly and shameless insistence to stay on as MB.

In this PAS' Pak Haji Hadi Awang and those in PAS who supported his move have not only behaved badly (and treacherously to Pakatan) but from a democratic sense, very dangerously.

There's now within PKR the start of an initiative to sack Khalid, a move I had proposed quite some time ago. No political party should tolerate a recalcitrant misbehaving like a renegade while wearing party colours. In football analogy it would be tantamount to tolerating a fullback to keep on scoring own goals.

I suspect the reason for PKR's earlier reluctance to sack the renegade has been its fear that the DUN might be dissolved with fresh elections called.

But wouldn't that be better than the current embarrassing imbroglio for PKR, which is tearing the party apart and bringing enormous discredit to its leaders.

I am confident that in a fresh election, Pakatan will still be able to muster at least 30 seats to form the next new state government, though I suspect PAS will be the major loser ..... to UMNO, as I expect most of its earlier (2013) non-Muslim Selangor supporters will abandon its candidates.

If Khalid still refuses to go, knowing he has lost the confidence of the majority of Pakatan ADUNs, in particular those of PKR, what will HRH then do?

We're speculating on his royal prerogative here but will he:

(a) insist on Khalid staying on as MB under a 'hung' parliament - 28 ADUNs comprising PAS' 15 and BN's 12 plus Khalid's Independent 1 (after he's sacked from PKR but still legally an elected ADUN)?

It'll be almost like the Perak crisis of 2008, following which the state's late HRH suffered a serious loss of support from his rakyat.

In a recent article in TMI, columnist Tunku Abidin Muhriz wrote poignantly to ask whether we were going to only remember Allahyarham HRH against that sad state constitutional crisis and completely ignored/dismissed Allahyarham HRH's life long achievements? I fear the answer to that as Malaysians only remember the bad about someone, and very seldom the good.

(b) select a new MB as he wishes, either from PKR or PAS or BN, though we may discount DAP as apparently the state constitution requires only a Malay (not Malaysian) to be the MB?

This will be unprecedented as in a constitutional democracy HRH can only approve or withhold approval of a candidate nominated by the majority coalition in the state, and not select his own ADUN to be MB.

If HRH does the unthinkable and selects his own candidate, one not supported by the majority, then that poor bloke or lassie may expect frequent if not regular political opposition, leading eventually to a collapse of a stable state government. Will HRH want that?

(c) dissolve the DUN and call for a fresh state elections? This seems the best bet to ensure the next government (Pakatan or a new coalition of UMNO and PAS) will be or can be one at least devoid (purged) of the current PKR bullsh*t, thanks to its de facto leader and its 'brilliant' strategist.