Contrary to the gloom and doom reports, the current crisis in PKR over Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim’s stewardship is not a zero-sum game.

“It’s not a question of either Khalid vacating the MB’s post or else the critics of his leadership will want out of the party,” said a PKR MP who spoke to Malaysiakini in the background.

The MP has empathy with both sides of the argument in the present controversy.

selangor exco meeting 261108 khalid ibrahim “I don’t think it is a zero-sum game. That’s too extreme a reading of what has transpired so far,” said the parliamentarian who is not from Selangor state.

He said a zero-sum reading would be as inaccurate as the view of Khalid as adept at handling economic issues and daft at managing political ones.

“Khalid is strong on economic issues, no doubt. But to think of him as good on economics only and poor at politics would be misleading,” said the MP.

He explained that a tendency to take a dichotomised view of the issues at stake in the controversy – that Khalid’s facility at economics came at the price of political ineptness, and that government and party are separated in Selangor – were to misperceive the situation even more.

He, however, noted that Khalid did not help matters when he did not attend several of the political bureau meetings of PKR that discussed and decided issues pertaining to Selangor.

“This matter of him being asked to appoint a new political secretary which the political bureau chose arose when it appeared that Khalid needed someone who could gather feedback from divisional leaders and channel it to him,” said the MP.

“It was felt that Khalid’s previous political secretary Nik Nazmi (Nik Ahmad) was better was handling the information aspects of PKR work and so should be reassigned accordingly.”

The MP opined that the politburo’s choice of Azman Abidin as political secretary to Khalid was sound because he was the division leader in Bandar Tun Razak where Khalid is the MP.

“Azman has been doing the work of holding the fort at Bandar Tun Razak for Khalid and he has been doing a good job. The choice was endorsed by the politburo and approved by Anwar,” he said.

Khalid rebuffs political directives

In the event, lawyer Faekah Husin ( photo below, far left ), former political secretary to PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, was appointed by Khalid to replace the reassigned Nik Nazmi.

NONE The MP said this move was seen by those long unhappy with Khalid’s seeming indifference to the party’s political directives as unwarrantedly provocative.

“Azman is good at listening and conveying and was chosen to help the MB with feedback from the divisions,” he said.

He said the issue of a new political secretary only arose when it was felt that Nik Nazmi ( photo above, far right ) could be put to better use elsewhere (communications) and that allowed for the vacant position to be filled by someone with the strengths to shore up Khalid’s supposed weak flanks.

The MP said he personally viewed Khalid as a competent enough MB who has erred in reversing what ought to be the PKR module of political ingratiation with the people.

NONE “First, you ought to strive to endear yourself with the people by immersing yourself in their problems,” asserted the MP.

“Then you roll out the more sophisticated modules of socio-economic development. To enlist the people’s support for these modules would be easier after you have done the work of winning their affections,” he said.     

He said the current crisis should not eventuate in one or the other side’s capitulation.

“It just warrants that each side concedes that politics matters as much as economics and government and party are not separate spheres but interconnected,” he opined.