Will Khalid dissolve the state assembly?

 Basically: Selangor voters may have liked and respected MB Khalid Ibrahim for some years, and even defended him when he was attacked initially, but his behaviour now is totally unbecoming of a leader, and fighting to keep his MBship will only lose him whatever respect he has earned so far.

Let’s see what he chooses – dignity or pure self-interest.

Regardless of the reasons for his sacking, the party has decided. So this is really a test of Khalid’s integrity as a leader who claimed to be a good administrator, businessman and a reformist.

Is he going to show himself to be a selfless gentleman and accept his fate, or fight and drag everyone down like a spoilsport.

Ferdtan: I have long argued that it is not to the interest of Najib Razak’s BN to have a snap election in Selangor. If they can, they prefer to seize power through the back door. It is because BN is weak.

Umno lacked capable Umno leaders and they are not united – they have two camps, the PM’s camp and the other, his deputy’s together with former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad. MCA and MIC? Not part of the equation here.

Najib is comfortable now. He is willing to wait for Mahathir to be out of the political scene. How many more years can Mahathir be around? So why take a risk in going for another high stake election in the country’s richest state?

If he loses again, obviously sabotaged by his party adversaries, he may lose his premiership.

If there is an election – doubtless to say, rightly or not, the perception is BN has a final ‘say’ – it must be forced on Najib by his ‘much-to-gain’ party opponents to go for it. Go on. The biggest loser will be PAS.

Wg321: If PAS decides to leave Pakatan Rakyat because of Khalid, PKR will gain the most in a snap election and MCA candidates will lose their deposits.
In a Malay-majority area, Malay votes maybe split between Umno, PAS and PKR. The non-Malay voters, antagonised by the PAS ulama’s hudud laws and Islamic state, will vote en bloc for PKR.

MCA has been demonising DAP for supporting the hudud law championed by PAS. Suddenly PAS and Umno now want to form a Malay unity government in Selangor headed by Khalid. How is anti-hudud MCA going to attack PAS?
Fernz: The issue is simple. PKR no longer wants Khalid. The MB’s post belongs to the party under Pakatan. Since PKR no longer wants Khalid, there’s nothing that anyone can do about it.

The sultan has to call Khalid and tell him to resign. If he refuses, sack him. If the sultan thinks wisely, he will not agree to fresh polls. Pakatan has two-thirds majority in the state assembly.

There is no reason to go back to the people. We just had polls last year. The result will be the same. A new election that doesn’t serve any purpose is a waste of public funds.

Fairnsquare: With PKR’s 13 seats, excluding Khalid’s, and DAP’s 15, would mean a hung state government if PAS decides to back Umno’s 12 seats, with PAS’s 15 and Khalid’s seat.

A PKR-DAP coalition without PAS might be good for the state. A more moderate government, with less emphasis on hudud, might be a good thing for the future of the country.

Rick Teo: By calling for a dissolution of the state assembly, what can Khalid hope to achieve? He is partyless and most unlikely will garner any support for any seat he choose to contest.

So if he seeks dissolution it is only with the purpose of obtaining vengeance against Pakatan and hoping the result of the election will hand over Selangor to BN.

Anonymous_3f4b: PAS is at loggerheads with PKR and DAP. DAP is supporting PKR because of Anwar Ibrahim, as DAP have no Malay leader. How to govern a state with these clowns around?

It is better for them to be just opposition parties so that they can dish out their daily dose of ceramah and organise fund-raising dinners to work up the emotions and feelings of the perpetually dissatisfied urban voters, rather than make a mess of government which the people have given them a chance to perform, and which they have failed abysmally.

J Ng: There is no more honourable move for Khalid. He has already shown himself to be the most dishonourable and unprincipled politician.

He will fight to the end with Umno and PAS as his allies. And with so much at stake, ‘froggies’ within PKR cannot be ruled out.

Allowing Khalid to buy time will give him the advantage. Frankly, the sultan is the only person who can resolve this in the interest of the rakyat by calling for a new election.

Negarawan: The interests of the people of Selangor are far more important than the selfish interests of Khalid. The sultan must remember this. It is best to dissolve the state assembly and let the people decide. This is fair to everyone.

JustAMalaysian: Khalid should do the next honourable thing – to resign as MB of Selangor. PKR put him up as MB and PKR has the authority to remove him as MB. No man is bigger than the party; that is the precept in politics.

If he tries to dissolve the state assembly, he will only be making a fool of himself. So, please go, Khalid.

Retnam: If there is a snap election, the Election Commission will delay it as long as possible. The courts will expedite Anwar’s Federal Court appeal. It will find him guilty at the end of a one-day hearing.

Immediately Anwar will be packed off to jail. The state election will be without Anwar.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakinisubscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.