The Issues Surrounding Khalid Ibrahim's Sacking Of Pakatan Rakyat Exco Members

PAS Vows To Quit Exco Posts If Khalid Ibrahim Brings In Umno

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PAS state executive councillors today pledged to quit their posts immediately if Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim moves to appoint Umno lawmakers to replace PKR and DAP leaders he sacked yesterday evening. “If Umno is in, PAS excos will be out. We won’t accept,” PAS exco Sallehen Mukhyi told reporters when met at the state secretariat here.

"The question of Umno does not arise. It is not in the (state) government. It will not work if Umno is in the exco. PAS will leave," he said at the state secretariat building in Shah Alam.

Iskandar Samad later reaffirmed his colleague’s stance, saying that they will leave the Selangor government should Umno assemblymen be appointed as exco members. “PAS is still in Pakatan. We will safeguard Pakatan’s interests in the government. We still carry the coalition spirit of Pakatan and we will stick to its principles."

He added that PAS had made “a huge sacrifice” by staying in the government. “This is so that the government’s programmes can continue. This is so that the rakyat will not be in the losing end in this crisis." He also stressed that they (PAS exco members) will ensure that Umno will not take advantage of the situation.

Sacked Exco Members Given Two Weeks To Leave Their Offices

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Embattled Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid has demanded the sacked DAP and PKR exco members to vacate their exco seats and their offices.

"They have one to two weeks to vacate their office," Khalid also said in a press conference held after the weekly exco meeting ‎in Shah Alam today.

Khalid said he had written to the sultan, seeking his approval to sack the six after learning they did not support him as MB. "I wrote to the sultan about the matter at 2pm yesterday and His Royal Highness responded in writing two hours later. The sultan had consented for the six to be terminated," he said.

State secretary Datuk Mohamed Khusrin Munawi was also reported as saying by Bernama that the DAP and PKR excos have to vacate their office in the state secretariat building as their sacking has received the sultan of Selangor's consent. “Their sacking was consented to by the sultan of Selangor, effective August 12. They are, therefore, barred from continuing their jobs,” Khusrin was quoted as saying.

Sixth PKR Exco Member Sticks By PKR's Decision To Fire Khalid Ibrahim

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Selangor executive councillor Rodziah Ismail will stick by PKR's decision on the state menteri besar issue, saying today she wanted to fulfil the mandate given to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to run the country's wealthiest state.

Rodziah, who had just returned from Bangkok for a political training programme, said in a statement, Thursday, that she agreed with PKR's decision not to support Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as the mentri besar. "I would like to heed the calls from PKR, a party that I am part of. "I believe this decision is to respect the people's mandate, who chose the party to govern the state," said Rodziah, who is in charge of welfare and women's issues.

Rodziah's name was missing from the list submitted to the Sultan of Selangor on Tuesday, seeking approval to sack PKR and DAP assemblymen as state exco, as she was away in Bangkok. It was reported that Khalid had wanted to first ascertain if she supported him before giving her a termination letter.

13 August: The Selangor MB Crisis Takes A Turn For The Worse When Khalid Ibrahim Sacked Six Pakatan Rakyat Exco On 12 August 2014

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today he has sacked all six state executive councillors from PKR and DAP, purportedly for refusing to cooperate with him as Selangor mentri besar.

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However, he has yet to request for the sacking of third PKR exco member Rodziah Ismail, who is overseas. There is speculation that Rodziah, the Batu Tiga representative, may throw her support behind Khalid. Efforts to contact her have been unsuccessful.

The sacking comes after all six said they will keep their distance from Khalid except for weekly meetings in a "transition" period. DAP and PKR had instructed the six to not resign even though the parties do not support Khalid's bid to remain as MB.

Just Four Days Prior, Pakatan Rakyat Had Terminated Khalid Ibrahim From The Party For Refusing Orders To Resign From The Selangor MB Post

According To Khalid Ibrahim, He Had Obtained The Sultan's Consent For Sacking The Six Excos

According To Khalid Ibrahim, He Had Obtained The Sultan's Consent For Sacking The Six Excos.

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He said Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has no objections to the sacking and letters have been sent to inform the six excos of their termination.

"The excos from DAP and PKR had made a signed statement that they will form a bloc and reduce their working capacity as excos. "Because of that, I have written a letter to ask for permission from the Sultan to request for their resignation of all six DAP and PKR excos," he told reporters at the state secretariat today.

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Mara Emeritus Professor of Law Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi said there was nothing the sacked PKR and DAP exco members could do to challenge their removal so long as consent had been obtained from the Sultan. “The term of the exco is determined by the Sultan on the advice of the mentri besar, so if the Sultan had agreed to their removal, there is little they can do,” he said.

The Termination Of All DAP And PKR Excos Means The Pakatan Rakyat Government Has Effectively Collapsed With Only Khalid As An Independent And Four PAS Members

With the termination of all six excos from DAP and PKR, the Pakatan Rakyat government has effectively collapsed with only Khalid as an Independent and four PAS members.

According to the state constitution, only a minimum of four exco members are needed to maintain the Selangor government.

In Response, DAP And PKR Will Not Recognise The Sacking As They Feel It Ignores The Mandate Given By The Rakyat

DAP And PKR Will Not Recognise The Sacking As They Feel It Ignores The Mandate Given By The Rakyat.

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DAP and PKR will not recognise the sacking of five Selangor executive council members by Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as it is illegal and unethical, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

“PKR and DAP feel this sacking is unethical, does not respect the spirit and principle of democracy and ignores the mandate given by the rakyat. “Khalid must remember that he was appointed as mentri besar to represent Pakatan Rakyat. He is not the Mentri Besar, his name is Khalid Ibrahim,” he told a press conference at the PKR headquarters last night.

PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was also at the press conference, said he was absolutely certain that all Pakatan assemblymen would not defect in support of Khalid. “I am 100% sure they will not defect. They are all upstairs,” he said.

All Five Sacked Exco Members Also Do Not Recognise The Sudden Dismissal That They Describe As "A New Record"

Meanwhile, Selangor exco member Datuk Teng Chang Khim said all five sacked councillors did not recognise the dismissal. “Under the state constitution, the Sultan appoints the executive council on the advice of the mentri besar. Therefore, only the Sultan has the power to sack executive council members,” said Teng.

“We do not recognise the sackings. He sent us the letter dismissing us today, saying that the Sultan consented to our sackings, but I believe everyone, including our media friends, saw that Khalid did not leave his office from morning until his 6pm press conference," said DAP’s Datuk Teng Chang Khim. He added that since the exco members received their dismissal before 6pm, it would have been impossible for Khalid to have met with the sultan beforehand to obtain His Highness's consent.

“The Selangor government is held by PR. As a sacked member of PKR, he has no legitimacy to sack a PR member,” said Teng, who is in charge of Local Government, Research and Development. “This has never happened in any democracy in the world, and he has now set a new record.”

The Five Will Continue Showing Up For Work But Would Not Attend The State Exco Meeting With Khalid. They Urged PAS Councillors Not To Attend The Exco Meeting In Solidarity With Pakatan Rakyat.

Sungai Pinang assemblyman Datuk Teng Chang Kim.

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Asked whether the five would attend the state exco meeting, Teng said they would show up for work but would not attend the meeting with Khalid. “We will stay in our offices as we have a lot of work to do,” said Teng.

Wong urged the four remaining PAS councillors not to attend tomorrow’s exco meeting, in solidarity with PR. “Effectively, it’s a strange thing. We have been illegally sacked from the government of the day. We urge our colleagues from PAS not to attend tomorrow’s meeting,” said the Bukit Lanjan assemblyman.

However, PAS Has Ordered The Four Remaining Exco Members To Carry Out Their Responsibilities As Usual Under Khalid Ibrahim's Administration Until A Decision Is Reached By The Party's Central Committee On 17 August

The four Selangor PAS executive councillors will have to attend today’s executive council meeting to ensure the state government remains in power until the Islamist party meets on August 17.

The four Selangor executive council members from PAS have been told to carry on as usual under the administration of Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim until a decision is reached by the party’s central committee on Aug 17.

Party secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali issued the directive saying that the state government was still functioning as normal. “The state government still exists, so they must carry out their responsibilities as usual until a new decision is taken,” he was quoted as saying by the party’s organ,Harakahdaily.

PAS Hoped DAP And PKR Understood The Need For Its Exco Members To Attend The Meeting

PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali.

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"The meeting of the PAS national leadership on August 17 will have a critical bearing on the future of the six-year-old three-party coalition Pakatan Rakyat," he said in a statement today. "However, PAS's August 17 meeting may be upstaged by what happens in the next 24 hours in the Selangor MB crisis, which may set the seal for the irretrievable break-up of PR," says Lim Kit Siang.

PAS Central Committee member Khalid Samad said he hoped DAP and PKR understood this, for if it its exco members did not attend the meeting, it will spell the end of the state government and pave the way for the dissolution of the state assembly. "Is this what all of us want?” asked Khalid, who is also the Shah Alam MP.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Law Experts Say By Removing Pakatan Rakyat From The Government, Khalid Now Has More Power On His Side

Constitutional law experts following developments in the Selangor crisis noted that with his detractors removed from government, Khalid now has more power to exercise his will from within the state administration without being answerable to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leadership.

“Let’s look at it this way — there is someone at the helm who doesn’t seem to be getting the cooperation of members who are supposed to be subordinate to him. “From a management perspective, this is the sensible thing to do,” Nizam told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

Constitutional lawyer Syahredzan Johan noted that by sacking the six allegedly recalcitrant exco members, Khalid shifted all the leverage of a state government on his side as neither DAP and PKR have any representatives left in the state administration.

However, Law Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar Reveals That His Actions Are Unconstitutional

The sacking of five Pakatan Rakyat executive councillors by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today is unconstitutional, a law professor said.

Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar of the University Malaya law faculty said only the Sultan could dismiss the exco members. "The MB can recommend, but the recommendation may or may not be accepted. Hence, the dismissal with immediate effect is not valid in law," he told The Malaysian Insider in an immediate reaction this evening.

Gurdial said the dismissal was fatal as the exco members were not given the right to be heard. "The reason given by the MB is that the exco members have a bloc to reduce the efficiency of the exco. However, no such voting to 'block efficiency' has in fact occurred," he said.