The Kajang fiasco

It was no secret that Parti Keadilan Rakyat deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali had been eyeing the position which Abdul Khalid was appointed to in March 2008.

There were also talks that the Menteri Besar position was at stake in the recent Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) nasty spat involving Mohamed Azmin and Abdul Khalid.

The prudent Menteri Besar was also in the news last year for allegedly 'hoarding' state funds amounting to RM3 billion instead of spending it on development and his statement that he listens to criticism from the rakyat more than partymen and politicians did not exactly endear him to Pakatan Rakyat allies.

Speculation is now rife that Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who has been named as the candidate for the Kajang state seat which fell vacant following assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh’s resignation on Monday is slated to become the next Selangor Menteri Besar.

Anwar had earlier denied that he will replace Abdul Khalid as the next Menteri Besar, adding that such talks were mere speculations.

“It’s mere speculations and this matter has been ongoing since the year 2008,” he told reporters on Monday.

The resignation and subsequently naming Anwar as the candidate for the Kajang seat did not go well even within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

PAS Youth had demanded a thorough explanation from PKR over the matter and have even threatened to boycott the by-election while DAP has been strangely quiet.

DAP’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s statement earlier that he did not know anything about Lee’s resignation nor the talks of replacing the Selangor Menteri Besar sounded hollow and unconvincing.

Even DAP strongman Karpal Singh who has always propagated political morality, has been rather quiet over the fiasco which took the country by surprise in the last two days.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Azmin was reported to have told reporters that the PKR had planned Lee’s resignation and the by-election that will follow suit, to strengthen state’s administration.

However, he was quick to add that the move was not to get rid of Abdul Khalid.

Abdul Khalid on the other hand, had told an online newsportal that he will only vacate his position on his own will, and not because of pressure from his party.

His words, however, sound like a man who had lost his battle and counting his days.

But, even if Anwar wins the Kajang state seat, will the Selangor palace consent to him becoming the 15th Menteri Besar?

The Selangor law stated that only a Muslim and Malay can become the state’s Menteri Besar but there is also the unstated law that the Menteri Besar must be a Selangor-born.

And there is also the question of whether the other Pakatan Rakyat allies would allow another PKR man to lead the state as both the parties had won 15 state seats each in the 13th general election while PKR won 14.