by Ong Kian Ming
Star Online
17 Aug 2014

The fluid political situation in Selangor, being the way it is, may make this column obsolete by the time it is published on the internet. As events unravel, what cannot be denied is the fact that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (TSKI) has created numerous political precedents in his desperate and increasing futile attempt to remain as the Mentri Besar of Selangor.

In many ways, TSKI has succeeded in accomplishing what Barisan Nasional failed to do. At the end of the day, when this crisis is over and a new MB is installed, I hope TSKI can ask himself this simple question – “Was it really worth it?”

Was it really worth almost breaking up Pakatan Rakyat? Was it really worth forcing the PAS excos stand by while you sacked their colleagues from PKR and DAP? Was it really worth it to mislead the Sultan when you clearly knew you did not command the confidence of a majority of the Selangor state assembly representatives? Was it really worth it to say that the government you led was never really a Pakatan government since it is not a registered entity? Was it really worth it to turn Pakatan colleagues against one another and to push things to breaking point within PAS? Was it really worth it to create divisions within NGOs and civil society that were previously united in fighting for human rights, media freedom and free and fair elections? Read the rest of this entry »

By Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Aug 17, 2014

COMMENT The ongoing Selangor crisis has riveted the Malaysian public for weeks and called into question the ability of the opposition to govern as a coalition.

From attacks on each other to sackings and perceived party betrayals, the Selangor crisis has revealed underlying tensions among Pakatan Rakyat partners and showcased the fierce competition for power and positions within the national opposition itself.

This dynamics has overshadowed principles and escalated in tit-for-tat moves that reflect a family caught in battle. Emotions of anger and motivations of revenge have come to the fore, blinding many participants to the substantial deterioration of support among the public at large and to the shared struggles to strengthen Malaysia.

Most analyses to date have focused on the power contests among personalities and discussions of the steps taken in the crisis itself and their legal status. A number of commentators have highlighted the cost to public support and negative impact on governance.

This piece centres on developments within Pakatan. The argument developed below is that responsibility for the Selangor crisis must be shared across parties and leaders, and new approaches within Pakatan itself are needed to win back public trust and forge the common ground within the national opposition coalition. Read the rest of this entry »

The Malaysian Insider
17 August 2014

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is now required by law to tender his resignation following PAS’s announcement of its support for PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah‎ Wan Ismail and her deputy, Azmin Ali, to take over as Selangor menteri besar, a law professor said today.

The decision was a clear sign that the Islamist party had rejected him as MB, said Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar of the University Malaya law faculty.

If Khalid refused to step down, his MB post and the state executive councillors’ posts would be deemed to be vacated, he said, adding that there was no need for the Sultan of Selangor to dismiss him and the exco.

Gurdial added that this was the essence of the judgment in the Federal Court case of Nizar vs Zambry over the Perak crisis, where the court had said: “Once the MB is made to know that he has lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the legislative assembly, he should take the honourable way out by tendering his resignation and the resignation of the executive council. Read the rest of this entry »

NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
17 August 2014

Was there any doubt that PAS would come through and support PKR’s proposal for its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take over as Selangor Menteri Besar from Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim?

The short answer is yes. And for the past 24 days since PKR officially proposed her name, the coalition of three parties – PKR, PAS and DAP – have been held hostage to the idea that the Islamist party might have other ideas about the Selangor menteri besar issue.

But the PAS leadership came through today, deciding that Dr Wan Azizah and her deputy, Azmin Ali, can replace Khalid – the second-term MB sacked last week for disobeying party orders to resign from the job.

Component party leaders and officials agree that the Islamist party’s decision has strengthened the pact that came about after Election 2008 and won more seats in the 2013 general election. Read the rest of this entry »

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has put himself beyond the pale of an honest, decent, principled and respected Pakatan Rakyat political leader when he is prepared to join forces with the darkest forces in the country which would not spare any scruples to destroy the people’s aspirations for change when he enlisted the support of the Registrar of Societies by filing a complaint over the manner of his sacking, threatening the deregistration of PKR.

However, Khalid’s clinging on as Selangor Mentri Besar although he has lost majority support in the Selangor State Assembly is different and separate from his expulsion as member of PKR and these two issues should not be linked at all.

Khalid is entitled to exhaust all avenues and resources with his team of lawyers and advisers to challenge his expulsion from PKR, whether through the party processes or the courts but he has crossed the Rubicorn when he initiated an action which could lead to the deregistration of PKR.

I can understand and share the outrage of the Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah at her “disgust” over such an action. Read the rest of this entry »

— P.Ramakrishnan
The Malay Mail Online
August 16, 2014

AUG 16 — PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has established beyond any doubt that she has the numbers to claim support from the majority of state assembly members.

She has 30 signed statutory declarations from the state assembly members backing her bid to be the next Menteri Besar of Selangor replacing Khalid. This has very effectively debunked Khalid’s bogus claim that he enjoys the majority support of the assembly.

In light of this irrefutable evidence, it would appear that Khalid must have lied to the Sultan. He must have deceived the Sultan into believing that he had the majority support of the state assembly members.

If he wishes to extricate himself from this damning situation, he must name names (of the assembly members) and reveal the number of assembly members supporting him. Without such fool-proof evidence, his claim of majority support cannot be taken seriously. His honesty is now in serious question. Read the rest of this entry »

– Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
16 August 2014

When I first wrote on the Selangor Menteri Besar saga a week ago, I said that Khalid Ibrahim was singlehandledly doing what Umno, MCA, MIC and Gerakan have not been able to do: to bring down Pakatan Rakyat’s position in the state and even nationally.

I had also written that “Khalid is now being seen as the trojan horse introduced to destroy the unity and solidarity of PAS, and indirectly that of Pakatan, by his attempt to get the support of PAS leaders to ensure he remains in power”

Since then, Khalid has been upping the stakes by claiming that he has the support of the majority of the states’s assemblymen in his attempt to remain as MB. As a result he has been able to get the support of the Selangor Sultan in remaining as MB and also get His Royal Highness’ agreement to his sacking of the PKR and DAP members of the Selangor executive council.

These early successes enjoyed by Khalid have no doubt emboldened Umno and Barisan Nasional to predict the quick break-up of Pakatan and even to entertain hopes of a snap elections in Selangor, so as to take advantage of the disarray within Pakatan.

But slowly and surely, the tables are being turned against Khalid. Firstly, he is accused of deliberately misleading the Sultan on the extent of the support from the state assemblymen. Instead of the majority support that he claimed he got, at most count, he had the minority support of the 11 Umno assemblymen only. Even the limited PAS support that he has been alluding to in a sneaky and indirect way is suspect. Read the rest of this entry »

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim cannot hide behind the Selangor Sultan but must come forward as an honest, honourable and accountable political leader to explain why he deliberately misled the Sultan on August 11 that he still commanded the majority in the Selangor State Assembly when this was not the case.

It is pointless for Khalid to pass the buck and suggest that those accusing him of misleading the Selangor Sultan to write to the ruler himself for an explanation.

The question is not an explanation from the Sultan but an explanation from him as the issue is not whether the Sultan was satisfied on August 11 that Khalid had the confidence of the majority of the Selangor Assembly representatives but why Khalid had made false representation to the Sultan that he had the majority support in the state assembly when clearly he did not have it.

Is Khalid seriously suggesting that after he was sacked as a member by PKR on 9th August, he still commanded support of the majority in the Selangor State Assembly? Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had committed the grave wrong on Monday of misleading the Selangor Sultan into believing that he still commanded the majority of the Selangor State Assembly members after being sacked as a PKR member last Saturday, when Khalid knew that this was not the case.

Before his audience with the Sultan on Monday, , Khalid was duty and honour-bound, whether morally, politically and constitutionally, to verify that he still commanded the support of the majority of the State Assembly members to continue as Mentri Besar before making any representation to the Sultan that he still commanded the majority of the State Assembly, so that he would not be guilty of the grave wrong of misleading the Sultan as he had done on Monday.

But despite of being in the midst of a political crisis from being sacked as a member of PKR, Khalid never tried to verify from the Selangor State Assembly representatives, particularly from the 43 Pakatan Rakyat State Assembly persons from PKR, DAP and PAS who had given him the mandate to be the Pakatan Rakyat Mentri Besar of Selangor after the 2013 General Elections, whether he still commanded their support simply because he knew that he could not get such a majority support.

This is one major consequence of the declaration by 30 of the 56 Selangor State Assembly representatives today (15 from DAP, 13 from PKR and 2 from PAS) that they have lost confidence in Khalid as Selangor Mentri Besar and support Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah as the new Selangor Mentri Besar. Read the rest of this entry »

It is unbelievable that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim could claim that the Selangor government is not a Pakatan government after he himself had said, both in the Selangor State Assembly and outside, for six-and-a-half years that it is a Pakatan Rakyat state government.

But what is even more unbelievable is Khalid’s ridiculous claim that the Selangor government is not a Pakatan government is endorsed by the four PAS Excos who appeared with Khalid in the media conference today – after condoning and endorsing Khalid’s arbitrary sacking of five Pakatan Rakyat Exco members from DAP and PKR by attending the Exco meeting.

Would the four PAS Excos be elected as Selangor State Assemblymen in the first place if they had not represented Pakatan Rakyat in the 2013 general elections? Read the rest of this entry »

With the declaration by the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that the 12 Barisan Nasional Selangor Assembly representatives will give its unconditional support to Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to continue as the Selangor Mentri Besar, it is urgent and imperative for immediate clarity of stand of all 43 Pakatan Rakyat Selangor Assembly representatives from PKR, DAP and PAS on the issue.

Time is of the essence following the rapid pace of developments of the political situation in Selangor and the country, and all processes of political decision-making have no choice but to be accelerated if Pakatan Rakyat is not to be seen as incapable of responding to fast and high-speed political changes.

Ahad 10 Ogos 2014 bukanlah sangat hari penentu bagi Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor, bahkan sebenarnya hari penentuan bagi Pakatan Rakyat yang berusia enam tahun sama ada ia mampu untuk terus menjadi simbol aspirasi dan harapan rakyat Malaysia ke arah perubahan politik demi membawa politik baru dengan keadilan, kebebasan, akauntabiliti, ketelusan, urustadbir yang baik, perpaduan dan keharmonian rakyat Malaysia menggantikan hegemoni, korupsi dan ketidakadilan yang diamalkan Umno.

Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat dalam mesyuaratnya pada 23 Julai 2014, dengan melibatkan pimpinan daripada ketiga-tiga parti komponen PAS, PKR dan DAP, telah memutuskan dua perkara:

i) Menukar-ganti Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim; dan

ii) PAS dan DAP akan mengadakan mesyuarat di peringkat jawatankuasa pusat masing-masing untuk memutuskan mengenai pencalonan PKR untuk meletakkan Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor yang baru. Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, August 10, 2014 is not so much D-Day for Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor Mentri Besar but D-Day for the six-year old Pakatan Rakyat whether it could continue to embody the hopes and aspirations of Malaysians for political change to usher in the new politics of justice, freedom, accountability, transparency, good governance, Malaysian unity and harmony after decades of UMNO hegemony, corruption and injustices.

The Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council at its meeting on July 23, 2014 with the participation of leaders from all three PR component parties of PAS, PKR and DAP, agreed on two things:

(i) The change and replacement of Selangor Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim; and

(ii) PAS and DAP to convene meetings of their respective Central Committees to decide on the PKR nomination of Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail as the new Selangor Mentri Besar. Read the rest of this entry »