Pakatan backs Khalid as S'gor MB, says PKR sec-gen

Pakatan Rakyat has endorsed Port Klang assemblyperson Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for a second term as the Selangor menteri besar, said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said that in the spirit of consensus, PKR has nominated two individuals amongst its Selangor assemblypersons for the top post to be discussed with its coalition partners PAS and DAP.

“Through PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, both parties have agreed for Khalid to be named as the Selangor menteri besar and continue his excellent service in heading the Selangor state government,” Saifuddin (right) said in a statement today.

Earlier today, Selangor PKR chairperson Azmin Ali had expressed disappointment over the nomination process, saying that the party’s top leadership had acted unilaterally and sidelined the state leadership.

Meanwhile, Lim - who is also the Penang chief minister - told reporters earlier today that he is backing Khalid to be the menteri besar because he had led Selangor Pakatan Rakyat to victory with a two-thirds majority in the just concluded general election.

When pointed out that he led PKR to a loss of one seat (from 15 to 14) from the previous election, Lim replied that "we are not talking about factional politics".

Lim was also told about PKR Wanita chief and Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin (left) who asked DAP and PAS not to "interfere" in the issue.

"We are looking at the whole issue in terms of Pakatan Rakyat," Lim, who is also the DAP secretary-general, said at a press conference at Komtar Walk.

"Let the people decide which is better - Pakatan or factional politics," he added.

"We will all go into this matter as Pakatan Rakyat, the people voted for Pakatan, not for any individual party," he stressed.

"The people voted for Team Pakatan, not for Team A or Team B".

DAP and PAS have both sent support letters to the Palace to endorse their support for Khalid.

Within PKR, its president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (right) also submitted a letter of endorsement to the palace without getting the consensus of the party's Selangor team, which is headed by Gombak MP Azmin Ali.

Azmin, PKR's deputy president, has lashed out at practices of "nepotism" within the party over the issue.

Selangor's delay in swearing in a menteri besar - unlike its sister states Penang and Kelantan - sparked controversy that there is a tussle for the position.