PAS’ masterstroke in Selangor MB issue

It was a day of smoke and mirrors in Selangor politics. Although Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s name will be presented to the palace, it is her rival Azmin Ali who may eventually get the mentri besar post.

DATUK Seri Hadi Awang arrived for the highly-anticipated PAS meeting in a sleek silver Mercedes-Benz with a sun-roof.

He was greeted by what looked like a small army of media people and also a sizeable number of PAS supporters chanting, “Hidup PAS”.

He knew all eyes were on the central committee meeting, the outcome of which would either escalate the tensions over the Selangor Mentri Besar crisis or pave the way towards a solution.

Everyone thought it would a long and argumentative meeting but everything was over after a little more than an hour.

By noon, deputy president Mohamad Sabu was telling a packed press conference that PAS had proposed PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her deputy Azmin Ali for the mentri besar post.

It was a diplomatic masterstroke on the part of the PAS leadership and it shows how far this once kampung-style party has come.

However, it was a somewhat different story by nightfall. A carefully-worded press statement stated that only Dr Wan Azizah’s name would be presented to the palace. It also stated that Azmin respects his party’s stand to nominate Dr Wan Azizah for the post.

Apparently, quite a bit of horse-trading had gone on behind the scenes before the Pakatan council reached the agreement.

PAS had insisted on two names and the meeting was told that the palace would reject Dr Wan Azizah. Azmin on his part indicated that he was not declining the nomination.

An understanding was eventually reached for Pakatan to propose Dr Wan Azizah and if Sultan Sharafudin Idris Shah was not agreeable with her name, PKR will present Azmin’s name to the palace. It is good to be endorsed by PAS but it would be even better if his own party nominates him.

This was also to appease those who are questioning accounts from third party sources and the media that the palace is not keen on Dr Wan Azizah and insist on hearing it from the Sultan himself.

A deal had finally been struck between the factions in PKR and also among the Pakatan parties who are anxious to end the political crisis.

The move is also seen as a face-saving way out for PKR and its lady president. It was also an admission of sorts on the part of Anwar that his grand scheme to make his wife the Mentri Besar has gone nowhere.

It is not known what sort of assurance Azmin had secured to ensure he will be nominated in the event that the palace rejects Dr Wan Azizah but it is a breakthrough for him.

The Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman is quite near the palace gates, so to speak. All in all, it has been a good day for him. In the morning, he received the endorsement of PAS. By evening, he was in the running for the mentri besar post.

Earlier, at the PAS meeting, Hadi had opened the discussion with a comprehensive explanation of the party’s stand on the Selangor crisis.

He spoke about the privileged information he has about the palace’s opposition to Dr Wan Azizah and also the significance of the Syura Council stand supporting Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

He stressed that the mentri besar post was PKR’s, and that PAS would not oppose PKR’s choice of Dr Wan Azizah but the party would also propose Azmin given that he is the No.2 in PKR.

Hadi has lent the full force of his personality to the decision because he personally proposed Azmin’s name and the press statement was issued in his name and carried his signature.

Hadi is rarely so firm and focused and some party members have joked that his “reverse gear has broken down”.

Mat Sabu confirmed that the decision on the two names was unanimous or “sebulat suara”.

The PAS decision means that Khalid is more marooned than ever. He was cut off from under the knee when 30 assemblymen pledged support for Dr Wan Azizah and now this.

“We will still defend Khalid when it comes to his integrity, we believe he is a clean and moral politician. But he is now an independent YB whereas the next MB has to be from PKR,” said central committee member Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, who is also the Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar.

Diplomacy aside, PAS was also being pragmatic. PAS leaders saw how the Selangor palace did not grant Dr Wan Azizah’s request for an audience.

Pushing a name that is not accepted by the palace is not only futile but would be seen as challenging the Sultan.

PAS leaders, especially those from Kelantan, know how crucial it is to have a good relationship with the palace. The smooth transition in Kelantan was thanks to the warm ties the party enjoys with Sultan Muhammad V.

Anwar has seen enough of Malay politics to understand the situation. He had called the PKR assemblymen for a Saturday night meeting at his Segambut home. The meeting was supposedly for him to quash the gossip on social media that he tried to get Hadi to sign a letter to endorse his wife when they met in Kuala Terengganu last week.

By then, some of those present suspected that Hadi had personally informed Anwar of the impending PAS decision to nominate Azmin. One assemblyman asked whether he had a Plan B if the palace rejects Dr Wan Azizah.

Anwar conceded that it was not good to be seen as confronting the palace and that things could not go on like this. He said the party would discuss again if there were objections to Dr Wan Azizah.

The coalition is inching towards a solution to this long-drawn out power struggle over the hot seat that has often been seen as a jinxed seat.

Khalid has indicated that he will seek an audience with Sultan on the latest development. He knows that he has reached the end of the road. But the question is what Khalid will do when he meets the Sultan.

Is he ready to resign? Will he advise Tuanku to convene a special sitting of the state assembly and endure a motion? Or will he propose to Tuanku to dissolve the state assembly for fresh election? -thestar