'Fresh election in Selangor will see end of Pakatan'
Pakatan Rakyat will be destroyed if Selangor has to go through a fresh state-level election.
Political analyst Wong Chin Huat believes this would be the case, not on grounds that the rakyat will vote for the BN, but rather because most people will not be bothered to vote.
"Then you will also have a third party, who will come and split the votes and as such, you will have BN back in power," Wong said.
Pakatan Rakyat will be destroyed if Selangor has to go through a fresh state-level election.
Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat believes this would be the case, not on grounds that the rakyat will vote for the BN, but rather because most people will not be bothered to vote.
"Then you will also have a third party, who will come and split the votes and as such, you will have BN back in power," Wong ( right ) said.
He said this at a forum last night on the on-going menteri besar crisis in Selangor, and then went on to cite the 1977 crisis in Kelantan.
In that situation, then Kelantan menteri besar Mohamad Nasir was accused of defying party instructions and despite demands, he had refused to give up his position.
This led to elections being called in the state a year later and it saw Umno winning back Kelantan.
"Just look at Kelantan then. PAS was left with only two seats," Wong pointed out.
Wong had earlier proposed that Pakatan holds a leadership election to solve the ongoing Selangor menteri besar crisis.
‘Give power back to the coalition caucus’
"We should give the power back to the coalition caucus. All 44 Pakatan assemblypersons in Selangor should decide whether Abdul Khalid Ibrahim should stay or not.
"If Khalid is defeated, then he should go. But if he is victorious, then he should stay, since he has the mandate," said Wong, adding that this should be done by secret ballot, so that no one could claim he or she was threatened to vote for a particular person.
He also likened the country's political system (parliamentarianism) to a football match.
"You can't have a lone ranger, and you can't have him kicking the ball the way he wants, right?"
Correcting the misconception that a menteri besar must have committed a crime to be sacked, Wong said a person in the post can even be sacked should he lose the confidence of his colleagues.
Wong also commented on the vote of no confidence, which he said should only be necessary when the party discipline breaks down or the party breaks up.
Law professor Azmi Sharom ( left ), on the other hand, said a vote of no confidence was necessary if Pakatan decides not to have a leadership election.
However, Azmi stressed that the vote of no confidence must be ascertained on the floor of the legislature and "not in some room in the sultan's palace".
He added: "The sultan should not become like a ball that is used by both parties."
‘Politics viewed as a way to make money’
The Universiti Malaya legal scholar also opined that politicians are reluctant to let go of power when they view politics as a way to make money.
"If you view politics as a money-making thing, you will not let go and will continue to hang on.
"It should be otherwise, because when you are in politics, you should be serving the people," Azmi said.
The chief executive officers of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Wan Saiful Wan Jan ( left ), said it was time for Khalid to step down because his own party had asked him to vacate his post.
"As such, Khalied should abide by the party decision," Wan Saiful said.
On views that PAS and DAP should also have a say on who becomes the next Selangor menteri besar, Wan Saiful said going by the same logic, DAP should have a say on who becomes the Kelantan menteri besar and PKR should have a say on who becomes the chief minister of Penang.
Wan Saiful also hit out at PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang who had expressed support for Khalid to continue as menteri besar.
"It sets a bad precedent - that it is okay to rebel. I don't think he (Hadi) is suitable to be the party president anymore."
However, Wan Saiful admitted that the whole mess was started by PKR itself, by re-appointing Khalid as the head of the Selangor government after the 2013 general election.
He said naming party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to replace Khalid was also not helping matters.
Picking Wan Azizah smacks of nepotism...
"The worse possible candidate is Wan Azizah, for it smacks of nepotism and cronyism. It also shows desperation, as though they don't have any other candidate.
"I do not have a problem with her personally, but I have a problem with the idea that she will not be an independent decision maker,” Wan Saiful said.
As such, he said he was also not surprised why PAS was hesitant to support Khalid's removal.
"PAS is a diverse party. Nevertheless, with the fracturing of the different groups in PAS, the progressives should start thinking about splitting from the conservatives."
However, Wong disagreed with Wan Saiful on the appointment of Wan Azizah, saying that in the process of democratisation, if nepotism was needed to build a stronger party, "so be it".
He also feels strongly that PKR should not destroy Khalid's reputation.
"Why are all the allegations only coming out now? If the allegations are really on issues which affect integrity, then those issues should be pursued even after he steps down," Wong said.
Yesterday, party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution charged that Khalid's integrity had “ become doubtful ” following his RM66 million out-of-court loan settlement with Bank Islam.
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