PKR leaders at the party's congress yesterday. The party believes that there is a high chance for the Selangor state assembly to be dissolved. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, August 24, 2014.
Lingering doubts over PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's chances of being the next Selangor Menteri Besar have prompted the party to prepare for snap polls in the state.
The Malaysian Insider has learnt that PKR believes there is a high chance that the Selangor assembly will be dissolved to make way for a state-wide election soon.
This is after reports emerged that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties have yet to agree to nominate a single name to take over from Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who was sacked from PKR earlier this month.
“If there are two names, the Sultan might think Pakatan is unstable and he could dissolve the assembly,” said a Selangor PKR leader who requested anonymity.
The leader revealed that internal party discussions have revolved around possible scenarios that could emerge next week, when Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah is expected to make a decision.
The state ruler cut short his holiday and returned home yesterday. He is expected to give an audience to Khalid on Monday.
PR leaders and political analysts have said that snap polls would be bruising to the coalition which now has 43 of the 56 seats in the state assembly. The Barisan Nasional (BN) holds 12 seats while Khalid is an independent.
At the same time, there is growing impatience among PKR’s grassroots leaders over PAS’s conflicting decisions.
A very fluid period
At the party’s 10th National Congress yesterday, some of PKR’s top leaders were either vague or unsure when fielding questions from the press on the latest turn of events.
It was reported yesterday that PAS had yet to decide whether to nominate to the Sultan of Selangor either one or two candidates to take over from Khalid from among PR’s 43 assembly members.
But in a PR presidential council on August 17, which top PAS leaders attended, the coalition decided to nominate only Dr Wan Azizah as their choice for menteri besar of the country's wealthiest state.
Before that council meeting, the Islamist party had decided on August 17 that it would submit two names, Dr Wan Azizah and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali.
When asked about the discrepancy between what the PR has decided and what PAS wants, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dismissed it as a non-issue.
“I checked, it wasn’t an issue because PAS said they will have to refer to a meeting on Monday on the process but the decision will be taken so there’s no issue.”
PAS is meeting this Monday to decide whether it will endorse only Dr Wan Azizah or submit another name together with hers.
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said it was not entirely certain that come next week, Dr Wan Azizah would be the menteri besar as endorsed by the party and its coalition partner, DAP.
PKR and the DAP control 13 and 15 seats respectively in the assembly, while PAS controls 15.
“This is still an on-going process and things are still fluid. It is possible that we could have state polls or even a minority government,” he said.
What PKR is hoping will persuade the Sultan of Selangor is the fact that Dr Wan Azizah has the support of 30 assembly members, who include two PAS state lawmakers.
But if PAS, which is a part of the coalition, breaks from the PR consensus and submit two names, it may cause confusion and be used as a pretext to call for the assembly to be dissolved, said the Selangor PKR leader.
If there were two names, it would also be highly irregular to choose a PKR candidate nominated by PAS but who was not endorsed by either DAP or PKR.
An election no one wants
Though independent pollster the Merdeka Center released a survey on August 22 showing that PR could retain Selangor if there were state elections, PKR leaders told The Malaysian Insider they would still prefer not to go through one.
“PAS has to come out and show that they are with the rest of Pakatan,” said Borhan Aman Shah, a leader from Sepang PKR.
Borhan felt that it was strange that PAS was acting inconsistently given the party’s strong emphasis on Islamic principles.
“We do not want this disagreement between PAS and the rest of Pakatan to be exploited by Umno.”
The disagreement, he said, could hurt PR at the polls even if the coalition is said to have a good chance of retaining Selangor.
“If the disagreement between the leaders persisted, it would spread to the grassroots and destroy our ability to work together,” said Borhan, who was the candidate for the Dengkil state assembly seat in last year’s general election.
Newly minted PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said there was no need for a state election since PR could prove that Dr Wan Azizah had the support of 30 members of the assembly.
“It’s unnecessary for the rakyat to go through state elections. But we are prepared for the possibility,” said the Seri Setia assemblyman.
What is ironic in this latest twist is that PAS, which is seen to be muddling the crisis and which could cause the assembly to be dissolved, is the one that is expected to lose the most if an election is called.
A Selangor PKR official said that out of the three parties, PAS had won at least seven new seats with majorities of below 1,000, thanks to urban and non-Muslim voters.
“If these voters believe PAS is the problem in this crisis and they withdraw support, the party could lose between four to five seats,” said the PKR official who requested anonymity.
- TMI
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.