Khalid's departure and the two indelible black marks
COMMENT The inevitable exit of Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as the menteri besar of Selangor marks the end of a turbulent and sorry phase in our country’s political history.
In his last official address, the outgoing political leader told his audience of state civil servants to ignore the political drama and to let politicians do war with one another. Khalid also stated that their drama will eventually become a joke.
Perhaps Khalid was not aware of the supreme irony of his statements. The consensus of informed judgment among non-politicians, as well as from professionals in the legal fraternity and from the academia, is that it was Khalid himself who brought about the needless drama.
COMMENT The inevitable exit of Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as the menteri besar of Selangor marks the end of a turbulent and sorry phase in our country’s political history.
In his last official address, the outgoing political leader told his audience of state civil servants to ignore the political drama and to let politicians do war with one another. Khalid also stated that their drama will eventually become a joke.
Perhaps Khalid was not aware of the supreme irony of his statements. The consensus of informed judgment among non-politicians, as well as from professionals in the legal fraternity and from the academia, is that it was Khalid himself who brought about the needless drama.
Many will also see Khalid as the biggest joker as well as the principal villain in this ‘wayang kulit’ (shadow play).
As a politician, Khalid should have been fully aware of, and should have honoured, the rules of democratic leadership.
The first rule is...
The first rule is that a leader has a position and stays on for as long as his party has confidence in him and supports him in the post that he is selected to hold.
This is the same for all positions in the party or the state – beginning with whether it is as branch chairman or at the highest level of the state.
These rules of the game apply not only to political parties, but also to all organisations that subscribe to democratic norms.
Not only did Khalid refuse to abide by this basic principle of democratic leadership, he also gave members of the public - as well as other key stake players such as the monarchy - the false impression that he had the support of the majority of the members of the Selangor state assembly in his attempt to resist being replaced as the menteri besar.
Whatever the reason for his unhappiness with the way in which he was being replaced, and however justified he was at being let down by his fellow party leaders, Khalid's response and attempts at delaying or circumventing the termination of his tenure can, in no way, justify his blatant use of the palace and other individuals and parties to extend his stay in office.
Neither can Khalid justify what is commonly perceived to be his efforts at trying to influence the selection of the next Selangor menteri besar.
Besides being castigated as the politician who attempted to cling to power by fair or foul means and, who willfully provoked an untimely and unnecessary crisis between his own party, PKR, and in PAS, history will judge Khalid harshly for several other reasons.
Perhaps the most important is that he has contributed, wittingly or unwittingly, to a redefinition of the powers of the constitutional monarchy that has resulted in the undermining of our parliamentary democracy system.
'A new principle of governance'
We will never know the contents of the discussions held between Khalid and the Selangor sultan.
However, as the outgoing menteri besar and political adviser to the sultan, it was surely incumbent of him to reiterate the basic principles and processes which underpin the country’s parliamentary democratic system, whether at state or federal level; and to ensure that these principles and processes are not undermined in any way.
That does not seem to have been done. As one of our most astute political commentators put it : “The decision of the sultan of Selangor to decide for himself who would be the most suitable candidate for menteri besar has established a new principle of governance in the country.
“It is not enough that the party with the majority of seats in the state assembly should select its candidate of menteri besar - the candidate must now also be formally 'acceptable' to the ruler.”
Further, as somebody who gives the people the impression that he respects gender equality, Khalid should have been the first person to refute the objections raised in various conservative quarters on the prospect of a woman menteri besar.
Instead, Khalid chose to remain silent and by doing so, contributed to a major setback to gender equality in politics in the country.
There are several other reasons why Khalid can be seen to have done a disservice to the cause of democratic, parliamentary and gender advancement in the country. But these two indelible black marks will remain, forever associated with his name, in the legal, constitutional and history books.
KOON YEW YIN, a retired chartered engineer, is a philanthropist.
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