Vote out Khalid, not hurl mud, say analysts

Mudslinging is not the way to settle the Selangor Menteri Besar (MB) crisis, analysts said last night, adding Pakatan Rakyat (PR) should hold a vote among its 44 state assemblymen to force Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to quit the post.

The analysts at a public forum in Kuala Lumpur also debated PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's suitability to replace Khalid as MB of the country's wealthiest state, as it would lead to claims of cronyism and nepotism, a criticism often levelled against its rivals, the Barisan Nasional (BN).

Political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat argued that PR could possibly lose Selangor if a vote of no-confidence is held now, or if a state election is called.

The forum’s panelists criticised the PKR’s decision yesterday to reveal a 50-plus page report that supposedly detailed “integrity issues” with Khalid.

Coming out with a dossier at this juncture was the wrong strategy, said Wan Saiful Wan Jan (pic, left), who heads the think tank Ideas.

“If you start disclosing things now, then people will ask why did you nominate him in the first place as an assemblyman and a Menteri Besar?

“I hope that PAS and PKR do not use mudslinging to get Khalid to quit as they should be above such things,” he said at the forum titled “The Selangor MB Crisis and Ways Forward” organised by Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia.

Wan Saiful said PKR can use internal party methods to get Khalid to abide by its decision for him to step down. This includes disciplining him or asking him to leave the party.

This is since Khalid’s position as state assemblyman and Menteri Besar is tied to his status as a PKR member. In a parliamentary system, office holders are chosen by party members, as opposed to being directly elected by voters.

PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said yesterday the party would distribute a report to its leaders and PR allies PAS and DAP, detailing several cases which questioned Khalid’s integrity.

Among others, the report touched on Khalid's RM66.67 million debt settlement with Bank Islam, which was settled out of court, as well as the sale of land to developer Eco World at below-market rate.

Khalid is under intense pressure from his party PKR and DAP to resign as Menteri Besar. He, however, has the support of some in PAS, including its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

He has defied his party’s wishes and insists to remain as MB until the end of his second term.

Wong (pic, right), of the Penang Institute, said the timing of Saifuddin’s announcement gave the impression that PKR was only releasing the report because Khalid refused to step down.

Khalid’s supporters could then argue that it was the same with party de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

“People will say Anwar did not want to step down so they had all these cases brought against him. So they will use the same line of argument to defend Khalid.”

Wong said a better solution out of the current mess was for PR to hold a ballot among its 44 Selangor assemblymen on whether Khalid still had their confidence.

This “Pakatan caucus” vote leverages on the principle that the MB must get majority support from his party or coalition.

“But if he still does not agree with the outcome of the vote, then Pakatan should proceed with the no-confidence vote in the assembly with all 56 assembly persons including those from Umno,” said Wong.

“If the assembly is dissolved because of the no-confidence vote and there are state elections, then Pakatan can use the caucus results to explain to the people that Khalid has lost their confidence and needs to be replaced.”

If the assembly was dissolved now without a caucus vote, PR could lose Selangor as disenchanted voters would stay home, he added.

This would enable BN to marshal just enough support to regain Selangor.

“You can explain to the people that we had tried to get rid of him to give the people a better leader. But he refused to go and so we had to try this method (state elections)”.

The forum also spent much time debating whether Dr Wan Azizah was the right choice for MB.

Wan Saiful said if PKR continued to insist on Dr Wan Azizah, it would no longer have the moral authority to criticise Umno or the BN when the latter did the same thing with their family members.

“If you accept that Wan Azizah is choice out of necessity, then you would mean that she will not really be in control. That there will be some committee or individual outside the law who would be influencing her decisions.”

Wong, however, said at this stage of Malaysia’s development as a democracy, the priority should be towards building stronger parties.

“At this stage in our democracy, if you say we can’t use nepotism to build a stronger party, then we will not go far.”

But Associate Prof Azmi Sharom (pic, left) told the forum that whether any method truly worked to replace and choose the next MB would depend on the honour and integrity of the individuals involved.

Azmi, a law expert from Universiti Malaya, said there were already clear rules in the Selangor laws to change the MB if he no longer has support of the majority of state lawmakers.

“The rules are very clear, the roles are clear, but whether it can be done right depends on the DNA of players,” he said.

PAS leaders will meet on August 10 to decide whether to endorse PKR's proposal for Dr Wan Azizah to replace Khalid.

The PR leadership will then meet to finalise the coalition's decision that could end Khalid's career as MB, just a year after he began his second term in office following the May national polls. – August 5, 2014.