Khalid should leave like a gentleman

Khalid must realise that despite doing a sterling job in building Selangor's coffers, he has many black marks in his report card as well.

COMMENT

by V. Thomas

Khalid Ibrahim should gracefully give up the Selangor Menteri Besar’s (MB) post in order to prevent the unthinkable – a snap election that could effectively end Pakatan’s rule in Selangor, a state it has governed since 2008.

Pakatan has already given Khalid six years (one full term plus one year) to administer Malaysia’s wealthiest state and his name will forever be etched in Selangor’s illustrious list of MBs, who have since Merdeka, developed and transformed the state into what it is today.

Having been accorded developed state status in 2005, Selangor is the ‘Singapore’ of Malaysia.

Instead of creating instability and animosity, Khalid should exit honorably from the state administration as a mark of his loyalty to the party that brought him to the forefront of politics in the first place.

His party PKR wants a change in leadership and instead of relying on the support of one coalition partner and several NGOs to keep him in power, Khalid should do the gentlemanly thing and step down.

Many leaders in PKR and Pakatan feel that the state administration needs to be more dynamic and transformative in order to overcome the various problems plaguing the state due to indecision and incompetency.

We have to admit Khalid needlessly delayed the Langat 2 water agreement with the federal government while confidently claiming Selangor had enough water resources for self-sufficiency. Earlier this year, the water rationing proved him wrong.

The exit of Alam Flora in 2008 is another issue of contention. Selangor’s tagline “Selangor Shines” should be replaced with “Selangor Stinks” as today Selangor has earned itself the damning title of ‘filthiest state in the country’.

There is also rampant corruption between local authorities and the contractors that replaced Alam Flora coupled with gross incompetency at various levels of government. Khalid should be reminded that the reason the federal government created Alam Flora, was to keep a highly urbanised and populated state like Selangor, clean and sanitary.

Khalid had amassed almost RM3 billion in state reserves when there is a desperate need for money to be spent to benefit the people.

There is a dire need to upgrade and provide better maintenance of facilities, infrastructure and amenities. The state should not rely only on the federal government for local government funding but use its own billions for urgent and needful causes.

What’s more, Khalid had failed to appoint Pakatan supporters in key positions in the Selangor government, who can then carry out Pakatan’s Vision and programmes.

Instead Khalid has given generous hikes in pay and bonuses to Selangor’s civil servants, with hardly enough funds provided to benefit the middle class and the poor.

Khalid’s loss in the party elections in the Kuala Selangor parliamentary division has also negatively affected his image in Selangor.

However, if Khalid tows the line and opts out of office gracefully, he can look forward to a bright future as a member of parliament and a prospective Minister, should Pakatan form the government in the future.

However for all this to happen Khalid must be in the good books of those in his own party, PKR.