The ‘war’ between Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and
Azmin Ali has taken a new twist with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto chief
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim taking the side of his loyalist Azmin.
Anwar, who presided the party political bureau
meeting on Tuesday and supreme council meeting Wednesday had said Azmin’s
dismissal did not follow proper procedure and as such was invalid.
The political meeting heard Azmin’s version
because Khalid did attend and similarly, last night’s PKR supreme council
meeting also heard Azmin’s version as Khalid was again absent.
Khalid, the Selangor Mentri Besar and also the
State Development Corporation (PKNS) chairman had dismissed Azmin as a board
member, citing it was decided by PKNS general manager Datuk Othman Omar and the
state exco agreed to it.
However, the general manager said the dismissal
was decided by the state exco.
With Anwar’s backing, the issue seems to be
getting worse as Khalid is now placed in an awkward position given Anwar is
still his boss in the party.
He is actually in a Catch 22 position.
To withdraw the letter and reinstate Azmin will
reflect Khalid’s ‘defeat’ in the ‘political war of power’ in the state and not
heeding Anwar’s ‘directive’ is tantamount to protesting the party president and
obviously can be termed as insubordination.
How will he withdraw the dismissal letter and
reinstate Azmin? Doing so will put him in an awkward position where he will be
seen as a Mentri Besar without ‘guts’ where all decisions need to be referred
to Anwar.
As it is, even the salary increase for excos
have been held back pending revision after Azmin and his supporters expressed
disapproval despite the state excos agreed to the decision.
Khalid has tried to make an impact as the
administrative chief in Selangor, minus any interference from his party boss,
to show he is capable of running a state.
However, things are not as easy as he has to
please not only the other partners in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but also the Palace
where his loyalty is priority.
Azmin’s dismissal is seen as Khalid’s ‘political
move’ to clip Azmin of furthering his influence as well as eroding his
influence with the coming party poll, probably to position himself (Khalid) in
a better position should he decides to contest for the party deputy president.
Azmin is read as Anwar’s proxy in the party and
whatever is in Khalid’s mind may not work out well as the party members
interpret it as ‘furthering someone else’ agenda’ not Khalid’s himself.
Politically, Khalid has not been a success as
even when he was in Umno, he failed to even got elected as a division chief,
and the same goes in PKR.
With Anwar’s backing for Azmin now, the stage is
set for Khalid to either ‘tow’ the leadership or face tumultuous journey as
Selangor Mentri Besar until the next general election.
No comments:
Post a Comment