Khalid’s status hinges on PAS’ Sunday meeting

At the moment Khalid is safe with only PKR and DAP opposed to him.

COMMENT

The Sultan of Selangor has consented to Khalid Ibrahim staying on as Menteri Besar until further development. This ‘further development’ is, of course, the meeting PAS was supposed to have held on 10th August and then postponed to the 13th and finally to the 17th.

Anwar Ibrahim is currently pushing PAS very hard to get them to ‘toe the line’ and take the common stand as PKR and DAP – meaning to ask Khalid to resign.

PAS, thus far, has remained non-committal because they are yet to get a consensus with the liberals and the ulama’ badly divided on the issue.

At the moment Khalid is safe with only PKR and DAP opposed to him. Until PAS indicates that it is also opposed to him, Khalid has no worries. But this will be only until this Sunday when PAS sits to decide Khalid’s fate.

PKR may have rubbed the Palace the wrong way by proposing Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as Khalid’s replacement. It is being made to appear as if PKR is instructing the Sultan as to what he should do.

The proper protocol would be for PKR to submit a list of names, at least two or three, and allow the Sultan to decide whom from that list he should choose.

In fact, the Sultan can even reject that list and ask for a new list of names if he is not comfortable with the first proposal. This has happened before more than once and in many other states as well.

Now it appears like PKR is not giving the Sultan any choice in the matter. It is no longer the prerogative of the Sultan as to who to choose and it seems he must appoint Dr Wan Azizah.

The announcement by PKR that the Exco would now report to the party and not to the Menteri Besar is another slap in the Sultan’s face. The Exco is appointed by the Sultan and not by the party and the Sultan has a say in who should sit in the Exco.

As in the case of the Menteri Besar, the party, through the Menteri Besar, can suggest some names but the Sultan is the one who decides. And if the Sultan is not happy with the list he can reject those names and ask for a new list.

This, in fact, is what happened in Selangor in 2008 and 2013.

Hence to say that the Exco no longer reports to Khalid is also like saying that the Exco  no longer serves the state but the party, and hence no longer reports to the Sultan as well.

Roslan Bistamam is an FMT columnist