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I have been trying very hard to refrain from commenting on the Selangor episode. I hope that the Pakatan Rakyat top leadership will iron out the issue amicably.

I am also convinced that level-headed comrades, whether supportive of Abdul Khalid Ibrahim staying on as menteri besar of Selangor or otherwise, will maintain decorum in discussions related to this issue.

Unfortunately, it did not turn out the way it should be. Apologists are not only defending their master, but also fabricating false allegations to demonise party leaders. They are promoting Khalid ( right ) at the expense of the party.

Instead of campaigning to retain Khalid as MB, it has now turned into a sinister smear campaign against Anwar Ibrahim and PKR. Hence, I have decided to knock some sense into these people, because it has come to a point that disgusts me to the maximum (not the unashamed flattering but the dishonesty).

Betrayal to the party

Unlike Nathaniel Tan, I am not privy to any information regarding Selangor administration, be it accurate or not. Someone who claims to have left the Selangor government in November 2013 possesses much more information about the state than a central committee member of the party where the menteri besar comes from.

What an irony! But there is no surprise if you are close to the circle, because one of the “key features” of Khalid’s administration is to deliberately cut off Selangor administrative matters from the party leadership.

The central committee was in the dark over various controversial issues in Selangor, and we were not privileged to ask the the menteri besar personally because he hardly attends the monthly central committee (MPP) meetings.

In the event of his absence, his fellow executive councillors will be victimised. They have to bear with all friendly advice and unpleasant criticisms about the Selangor administration.

They often have to convey decisions made in the meeting to Khlaid, and face the music in the next meeting because none of the decisions made by the central committee will be executed.

You want transparency on the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex)? Water deal? Land deal? Tell me about it!

I am not an optimist like Nathaniel Tan, who is dead certain that Khalid will eventually scrap Kidex despite the menteri besar having explicitly said that the project will go on.

The argument put forward by Nathaniel Tan, that Kidex will go the same way as Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s CAR in Rawang, is completely unconvincing. Even an ultra loyalist like him is using vague terms like “my guess”.

We are the ruling party in Selangor, we need to ensure state policy does not go against the interests of public. We do not guess, or pray for Khalid’s mercy to stop Kidex. We need a menteri besar who can implement state policy according to party principles and the interests of the rakyat, which is to stop the extravagant project immediately.

Unanimous decision

Ignoring the fact that Khalid has betrayed the party by refusing to implement state policies in accordancewith the party’s principles, his advocates are trying to portray those who want him ousted as greedy or power-crazy politicians.

The strategy that Khalid’s advocates are applying is to single out Anwar Ibrahim and put all the blame on him. In order to do that, everyone but Anwar was made an angel. Hasan Ali ( left ), Ibrahim Ali, Raja Petra and Utusan Malaysia were fervently mentioned by Nathaniel Tan, merely to discredit Anwar.

However, Nathaniel Tan and his cohorts have failed to understand the crux of the issue. The decision to replace Khalid was made collectively in the central committee meeting of PKR.

As one of the attendees in the last central committee meeting, I hereby confirm that none of the committee members voiced disagreement on the removal of Khalid as Selangor menteri besar. There were only some discussions on suitable candidate to replace him. It was a unanimous party decision, coupled with undivided support from DAP.

Wake up dude! Discrediting one man will not save your master. Khalid and his advisers have sown the wind by ignoring the party and neglecting the rakyat, for which they shall now reap the whirlwind.

She is stronger than you think she is

While I pity Nathaniel Tan for having to defend the indefensible, I am deeply annoyed by his male chauvinistic view on Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. It is utmost ungracious for him to imply, without any proof, that Wan Azizah will be the puppet of Anwar Ibrahim if she is elected menteri besar.

The sole reasoning he gave to substantiate his claim is “she cannot be said to have demonstrated the qualities of a strong leader”.

Who is Khalid Ibrahim in politics when he was made the menteri besar of Selangor in 2008? Who is Najib Abdul Razak when he was appointed to the cabinet in 1978?

At least Wan Azizah has proven herself as a credible political leader when she was made the first female Opposition Leader in the history of the Malaysian Parliament. She is also the president of the most diverse and multiracial party in the country, since 1999.

For someone who has never worked at the grassroots level, Nathaniel Tan will never know how much leadership quality it requires to run an opposition party with scarce resources.

Not many men can even survive at the branch or divisional level of a political party. Thus, Nathaniel Tan should have the humility to apologise to Wan Azizah on his unwarranted insinuations.

Lastly, I do hope Nathaniel Tan will sincerely appreciate the tremendous potential in female leaders. As Margaret Thatcher had pointed out rightly, “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.”


CHANG LIH KANG is the assemblyperson for Teja in Perak and a PKR central committee member.

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