SHAH ALAM, Aug 12 — Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today he has sacked all six state executive councillors from PKR and DAP, purportedly for refusing to cooperate with him as Selangor mentri besar.
He said the Selangor Sultan has given his consent on the matter, and that official letters have been sent to five out of six state executive councillors this evening.
“These excos have made several statements and signed a letter for a bloc to be made for the purpose of decreasing the effectiveness of the exco.
“Therefore I have written to the Sultan to ask so that these excos do not carry on their duties in the Selangor state government,” he told reporters here.
The move effectively boots both PKR and DAP from any position of power in the Selangor administration.
Earlier today, DAP and PKR’s six Selangor executive councillors confirmed that they will remain in office under Khalid, but said the mentri besar is only holding the post temporarily until Pakatan Rakyat (PR) formally agrees on his replacement.
The six stressed that at present, Khalid’s roles and functions are only limited to his current position as the interim mentri besar and any decision to be made by the state government must be sanctioned by the state executive council.
The exco members who signed the statement are Datuk Teng Chang Khim, Rodziah Ismail, Ean Yong Hian Wah, Wong Keat Ping, Dr Daroyah Alwi and V. Ganabatirau.
Rodziah is the only one who has yet to receive an official notification from MB Khalid as she is currently overseas.
Yesterday, Khalid challenged the six DAP and PKR exco members to resign if they no longer support his leadership, insisting the Selangor constitution allows him to run the state with only four exco members. He also asked the lawmakers to meet with him this morning to discuss the matter but the invitation was turned down.
Selangor has four exco members from PAS. The PAS leadership has yet to publicly state its position on the ongoing MB crisis.
Earlier today, PAS’s four exco members said they too will remain in office under MB Khalid until, and unless, their party decides otherwise during its leadership meeting this August 17.
PKR’s disciplinary committee expelled Khalid from the party last week for his open defiance of the party’s decision that he must step down to make way for PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Khalid said he will accept the party’s decision, but labelled it a “flawed and illegal” decision born of a “conspiracy of the highest order”.
The embattled mentri besar’s sacking leaves PR in a precarious state in Selangor, and adds to worries that snap polls may have to be called to ward off a stalemate.
Without Khalid, PKR’s share of the 56-seat Selangor state assembly drops to 13 from 14 while allies DAP and PAS have 15 seats each. Umno, the opposition in the state, holds 12.
