Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim should have gracefully and honourably resigned as Selangor Mentri Besar when he was sacked as a member of PKR last Saturday (August 9), as his appointment as Selangor MB stemmed from the trust and mandate given to him by PKR and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition after the 13th General Elections last May, and once this mandate was withdrawn by PKR by his expulsion from the party, his continued tenure as Selangor Mentri Besar became completely untenable.

Article 53(6) of the Selangor Constitution is very clear as it states: “If the Mentri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the Legislative Assembly, then, unless at his request His Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the State Executive Council.”

The only way for Khalid to continue as Selangor Mentri Besar under these circumstances – although it would have been a dishonourable and unethical act – was for him to establish that he still commanded the support of the majority in the State Assembly despite his expulsion from PKR and to make such a representation to the Sultan of Selangor.

But Khalid misled the Sultan of Selangor in the royal audience on Monday that he still commanded the majority in the State Assembly when clearly this was not the case – and Khalid dared not undertake any verification from the Selangor State Assembly members before meeting the Sultan of Selangor, knowing fully well that he would not be able to demonstrate that he enjoyed the majority support among the State Assembly members. Read the rest of this entry »