Despite the pressure from leaders in PKR and DAP to quit, Selangor MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is holding on to his post, insisting that dealing with dissatisfied politicians from within and without his party is all in a day’s work.
Could it be that caving in has just not crossed Khalid’s mind because he has the solid backing of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, whose word no one in PAS will ever go against?
Khalid has been getting hit left, right and centre from the likes of long-time nemesis Azmin Ali from PKR, Gobind Singh from DAP and even at one time Jaafar Sulaiman from PAS, though now both PAS Selangor and Jaafar himself have outwardly denied this.
Needless to say running Malaysia’s richest state has not been easy for Khalid who has also been humiliated in public by Anwar Ibrahim who even orchestrated the Kajang by-election in a bid (no matter how feeble) to unseat him.
Now despite trouble in Selangor reaching boiling point with the return of the confiscated Bibles at a stalemate and the nagging KIDEX hanging over his head, un-stoppable Khalid is still chugging along, quiet and confident that PAS is his ticket to long-term security as MB.
Theories abound as to why PAS has chosen to be loyal to Khalid. However whether it is job appointments, hefty state budget allocations or PAS’ plain old reluctance to consent to a woman MB in the form of Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah, one thing’s for sure – Khalid is no pushover.