Khalid Ibrahim today responded to criticisms of his present "predicament" where he is Selangor menteri besar but no longer Selangor PKR chief, as Azmin Ali was named to the post on Sunday.

He said this arrangement ensured no conflict of interest between state administration and party interests.

NONE Khalid ( right ) was speaking at a press conference in Shah Alam today after chairing the state exco meeting.

"This is a new approach, an innovation. One looks after the state, and one looks after the party. This will also ensure that PKR continues to govern the states that it holds now."

Khalid also confirmed that he is still the Kuala Selangor PKR branch chief, quashing allegations by a certain Kuala Selangor PKR leader who questioned his capability as the Selangor menteri besar.

State should manage water

The Selangor MB also welcomed the Kuala Lumpur High Court's landmark decision to declassify the 2004 audit report and water concession agreement between the Selangor government and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).

He said it would provide an impetus for the state to manage its own water resources, and pave the way for the state's effort to take over the management of this precious resource.

He said yesterday's decision helped the state's continual opposition to Syabas' rising tariffs.

The ruling will help Selangor residents to evaluate whether the previous BN government had acted correctly in signing the water concession agreement, he said.

"The water tariff is based on the price of the concession agreement. If the agreement is one-sided to benefit the concessionaire, the rakyat will have bear with high extra costs.

"Hence, the court decision yesterday for such documents including the audit report to be made public would benefit the people of Selangor," he said.