Khalid's masterstroke! When history repeats itself.

Legally Pakatan Rakyat don't exist. Morally Pakatan is dead.



Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has effectively sacked five of the six DAP and PKR state executive council (exco) members to ward of unnecessary administrative trouble.

Khalid sacked three DAP and two PKR Exco members after seeking clearance from the Selangor Palace.

Four of the total ten Exco members, all from Pas, have already voiced their support for Khalid.

This latest drastic yet strategic move of the embattled chief executive of Selangor would nonetheless further consolidate his position.

With the palace acting by the book, no amount of wheeling and dealings could unseat the duly elected, and subsequently appointed, mentri besar who was sacked from PKR without even a hearing.

The Selangor Palace has even rejected Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s request for his wife Datin Seri Wan Azizah, who is also PKR president, to explain the party and Pakatan Rakyat’s internal crisis to the Sultan.

The palace had made it very clear, via an official statement that the Sultan was not keen to interfere in PKR’s politics.

Khalid has pleaded innocence and pointed fingers against PKR leaders for conspiring to remove him. Khalid said it was a 'conspiracy of the highest order', an expression that we last heard when the now PKR de facto leader was sacked from the Government and eventually from Umno in September 1998.

Anwar's defiance then and his moves to protest his removal is history and history seems to be repeating itself.

Opposition pact's once blue-eyed Mentri Besar is now crying 'conspiracy of the highest order', ironically pointing an accusing finger at Anwar himself. Khalid’s defiance could trigger flash backs for Anwar.



DAP leaders too appear to be part of this conspiracy to indiscriminately remove Khalid. DAP stands accused as a party to Khalid's 'illegal' sacking.

If Khalid's sacking is perfectly all right then how could DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng question the Mentri Besar's choice of his state executive council members?

Obviously Khalid could remove those whom he nominated/appointed with the Sultan’s consent.

In fact Khalid could now be enjoying the company of five existing Exco members, including the four Pas elected representatives.

It is widely speculated that PKR's Exco for welfare and women's issues Rodziah Ismail could have agreed to support Khalid and remain in the council.

With Rodziah's backing Khalid could chair a six-member state executive council, more than the required five (including the chairman). The Mentri Besar could just play it by the book and adhere strictly to the Selangor state constitution.

The Sultan of Selangor is believed to have left for an overseas trip and is only expected back on August 24.

Khalid is undoubtedly still very much the Mentri Besar of Selangor.

If Pas decides to walk out of the pact and stand by the party’s influential Syura Council decision to support Khalid, the remaining elected representatives of PKR and DAP could fall under the ‘opposition’ category soon.

Unlike the Barisan Nasional, which is a legal/registered organization, the DAP-PKR-Pas pact is just marriage of convenience without any legal basis. Thus, Pas could walk out without any legal hurdles.

Pas has actually pulled one feet out from the pact when the party instructed its Exco members to stay on with Khalid. If and when Pas decides to pull out completely, that would affirm the break up of the Pakatan’s marriage of convenience.

Hopefully the dust settles before the Sultan returns from his overseas trip. The state administration must push aside time and resources wasting politics and start to focus on other pressing matters.

The acute water shortage and outbreak of deadly Dengue fever in Selangor are definitely more pressing that PKR’s intra-party politics.

p/s A friend argued that Khalid’s removal is not similar to Anwar’s sacking in 1998 because Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad didn’t appoint Tun Dr Siti Hasmah to replace Anwar.