It is a pity that the Selangor palace did not end the confusion on the status of the state menteri besar, said constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari today.

He was commenting on the ruler giving his consent to Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to continue as menteri besar despite the latter being sacked by PKR.

Aziz said Selangor ruler Sharafuddin Idris Shah could have asked for Khalid’s claim that he still commands majority support in the state assembly to be put to test.

"Given the ongoing crisis, the more proper course of action on the part of the sultan is to ask Khalid to have the claim tested in the Selangor assembly," he told Malaysiakini.

"Asking Khalid to continue smacks of partisan (remember PKR has sacked him).

"Constitutionally, it is for the sultan to satisfy the claim (that Khalid has majority) himself. For one thing the constitutional duty is on the sultan. Khalid can claim whatever he wants," he added.

Aziz also said that sacking Khalid as a PKR member is not enough to remove him as the Selangor menteri besar.

As such, he said PKR made the "mistake" of not proving that Khalid had lost majority support in the state assembly before it sacked the Port Klang assemblyperson from the party.

"PKR made a mistake not to go ahead to show that at least 29 of the 43 Pakatan (Rakyat) members in the House are against Khalid.

"The sacking may indicate the withdrawal of support but it is not enough to get Khalid out of office," he added.

However, Aziz stressed that the sultan's word is not enough to keep Khalid in office, as a vote of no confidence can always take place.

"It is too early for Khalid to celebrate," he said.

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