The Selangor Menteri Besar crisis is nowhere near resolved, as a meeting bewteen PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang ended with Hadi asking for yet another candidate for the job.
Sources claim that during a meeting held in Terengganu yesterday between the two Pakatan Rakyat leaders, Hadi asked Anwar to put forth an alternative candidate for the post of Selangor MB other than Anwar’s wife, PKR president and Kajang assemblyman Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The official PAS news portal Harakah Daily quotes the party’s secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali as saying the meeting went on for an hour. He declined to elaborate on the details of the discussion.
The news portal reported that the meeting was also attended by Hadi’s political secretary Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution.
The Star Online reports that a source familiar with the negotiations said that PAS would not object to PKR nominating Wan Azizah for the Menteri Besar post, but nonetheless wants an alternate candidate named.
“PAS is open to (PKR deputy president) Azmin Ali or (PKR’s Ijok assemblyman) Dr Idris Ahmad as Menteri Besar,” he said.
Pakatan Rakyat’s hold on the Selangor state government is fraying at the seams, as PKR expelled Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim from the party for refusing to comply with PKR’s endorsement of Wan Azizah for the MB post. While DAP, the other partner in the PR coalition, has stepped in line with PKR’s official stand, PAS is still holding out its official decision until a meeting between its top leaders on August 17.
Despite his expulsion, Khalid has received the Sultan of Selangor’s consent to carry on in his duties as MB for the immediate future, so long as he can command majority support from the Selangor state assembly.
That support is questionable, as PKR and DAP hold 28 out of Selangor’s 56 state seats, with PAS in control of another 15.
UMNO, the opposition in the Selangor state government, has pledged the support of its 12 state assemblymen to Khalid’s cause, muddying the waters further for Pakatan Rakyat’s unity and cohesion, not only in Selangor, but as a whole.
See Also:
Uh, surprise?: PKR nominates Wan Azizah for Selangor MB post
Despite Wan Azizah endorsement, Khalid Ibrahim isn’t budging from Selangor MB post
Anwar: If my wife becomes Selangor MB, I’ll quit as state economic adviser
Who does PAS support for Selangor MB? We won’t know until August 13 … no, make that August 17
After being expelled from PKR, might Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim join PAS?
BREAKING: Sultan of Selangor consents to Khalid Ibrahim continuing as Menteri Besar
Selangor palace doesn’t want to meet PKR to talk about MB Khalid’s expulsion
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