Khalid Ibrahim sworn in as Selangor MB
BY CLARA CHOOI
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
SHAH ALAM, May 14 — After a week of speculation, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim finally received his appointment letter from Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah this morning and was sworn in for his second term as state mentri besar.
According to The Star Online, the PKR leader arrived at Istana Alam Shah in Klang at around 9.40am for the brief ceremony.
An official from Khalid’s office was yesterday quoted as saying that the dispute over who should be the next leader of the country’s richest state had ended with the latter’s name selected as the best person for the job.
“The exco line-up is already prepared,” Khalid (picture) was also quoted by state news agency Bernama as telling reporters at the Bukit Kayangan palace in Shah Alam yesterday.
“We target two weeks at the latest and a week at the earliest for the new exco to be appointed,” he added.
Khalid’s political secretary Faekah Husin later confirmed with The Malaysian Insider that his swearing-in ceremony would take place at Istana Alam Shah in Klang this morning.
The DAP and PAS have endorsed Khalid as Selangor mentri besar, amid claims by PKR deputy president Azmin Ali that Khalid’s candidacy had bypassed the democratic process.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won a two-thirds majority in the Selangor state assembly in the May 5 general election by taking 44 of the 56 state seats. PKR, however, won only 14 seats while the DAP and PAS took 15 each.
Azmin also appeared to question Khalid’s leadership at a press conference last Friday and insinuated that Selangor PKR leaders were against Khalid’s reappointment.
However, party sources have said that a majority of Selangor PKR lawmakers and division chiefs want Khalid to be reappointed as the state’s mentri besar amid protests by a faction led by Azmin, who was said to be gunning for the mentri besar post.
Azmin also said last Friday that Khalid’s administration was filled with “red tape” and implied that the state government had not been responsive on issues faced by voters.
But Azmin dismissed speculation that he would leave PKR following the party’s supposed endorsement of Khalid’s governance.
In the other PR states, Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Ahmad Yakcop have already been sworn in as the chief minister and mentri besar for Penang and Kelantan respectively.
