ANALYSIS Fake posters of PKR's newly-proposed menteri besar of Selangor, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, taking her oath at the Indra Kayangan palace in Shah Alam are already making their rounds.
Such acts will only further infuriate embattled incumbent Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who seems bent on keeping his job despite his boss, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, proposing Wan Azizah, his wife, takes over.
Other than invoking official procedures to cling to his post, Khalid will find it a battle to stay on in the remaining days as he has virtually no support from his own comrades.
According to sources who attended the 10pm meeting at the PKR headquarters on Monday, none of the members called for or supported Khalid to remain in his post, which he has held since 2008.
The source said there had already been a consensus to replace Khalid in January this year, when the ‘ Kajang move ’ was initiated.
The leadership was concerned that keeping Khalid on despite fierce attacks from within and outside PKR would result in a Kedah situation, where Umno recaptured the state in last year's general election, reportedly due to the infighting in PAS.
The Port Klang assemblyperson, who also failed to retain his Kuala Selangor division head post in the PKR elections, remains lonely and discarded in his own party, despite efforts of his loyalists to paint him as the "best menteri besar" Selangor ever had.
At the meeting which ended at midnight, Malaysiakini learnt that several leaders, including Anwar, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Rafizi Ramli and Tian Chua, defended the decision to choose Wan Azizah as the new MB.
More than just a "stabilising factor" to keep the party from being torn apart by conflicts ahead of the 14th general election, slated for 2018, Wan Azizah's supporters said PKR would gain positive reviews as it was willing to break the glass ceiling to appoint a woman, a first in Malaysia, to head a state government.
But more than this, Wan Azizah's appointment would serve as a compromise between the loyalists of two big factions - Anwar's and that of Azmin Ali, who is leading the race for the deputy president post in the party elections that begun in May.
What if Anwar fails in sodomy appeal?
However, Azmin's loyalists - Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin and party veteran Khalid Jaafar - had at the meeting lobbied for the Gombak MP to take Khalid's place.
They argued that Wan Azizah may not be able to withstand the onslaught by BN forces out to destabilise and recapture Selangor, dubbed the richest Malaysian state, especially if her husband loses his appeal to overturn his five years' jail term for Sodomy II at the Federal Court.
But their arguments were shot down by those who argued that appointing Azmin would split the party into two and upset PKR's allies in DAP and PAS.
Expecting this outcome, his supporters say that Azmin ( left ) has taken off to Mecca to seek peace and patience to face his political future in PKR and Selangor.
The question now being posed is whether Azmin and his allies would be able to work with Wan Azizah in the coming days, especially in the run-up to the 14th general election?
His supporters say "yes", as Wan Azizah somehow has the respect of everybody in the party, including members of the public who see her as Anwar's "faithful, suffering and sacrificing" wife.
The only concern is the people who surround Wan Azizah should she assume the post - figures like Rafizi and Saifuddin - who may not obtain the full support of party members.
Still, Anwar has spoken, and party members - comprising members of Parliament and state assemblyperson - from all states decided to rise above charges of nepotism to support Wan Azizah's appointment.
Wan Azizah loyal to party
The larger view is that Wan Azizah is, after all, PKR's president, who has held the post since 1999.
She was steadfast and loyal to the party during the turbulence days of reformasi following the sacking of her husband from the deputy prime minister's post in 1998.
She persevered and held the party together while Anwar was in jail for six years for an earlier sodomy charge, which was eventually thrown out by the Federal Court in 2004.
Wan Azizah, a medical doctor, won and held the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat for two terms, giving it up only in 2008 to allow Anwar to win it in a by-election and become parliamentary opposition leader, a post he still holds.
She stepped in to replace Anwar ( right ) to win the Kajang state by-election in March, as his decision to contest the seat was thwarted by the Court of Appeal decision to sentence him to a five-year jail term for the Sodomy II case, thwarting his supposed plan to replace Khalid.
Elected representatives who are fined above RM2,000 and who are sentenced to jail have to vacate their seats and are disqualified from contesting in elections for a period of two terms.
It now remains to be seen whether Wan Azizah can cross several obstacles in her path to become Selangor menteri besar, which includes the endorsement of the Pakatan Rakyat Council and Selangor ruler.
If Khalid resists the move and obtains the support of the sultan to call for a fresh state election, Pakatan must be prepared to lose Selangor as there is no telling how voters would punish the coalition for this political crisis.
While DAP leaders have started congratulating Wan Azizah on her new appointment, PAS remains split on the matter.
However, PAS is expected to eventually bow to the decision of its leaders, as its deputy president Mohamed Sabu and secretary-general Mustafa Ali have said that the decision to appoint the Selangor menteri besar remains in PKR's hands.
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