Khalid Samad: Snare in Khusrin Row

Khalid Samad: Snare in Khusrin RowBy Adib Zalkapli (The Malaysian Insider)

SHAH ALAM, Jan 6 — Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad urged the state government today to move forward and accept Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the state’s new secretary, and reminded it of the stakes if it chose to prolong the row.

According to Khalid, Khusrin’s appointment was an intentional attempt to pit the state government against the Sultan.

“I urge the state government to choose their fight, to choose their battle,” said Khalid.

The PAS lawmaker added that the administration of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has already done what it could to argue that Khusrin was not the state’s choice.

“The point has been made, Khusrin is not the best man for the job, and we have made our objection clear,” Khalid told a press conference here.

“When the administration starts to face problem, fails to perform we will know the cause is BN’s choice of [state secretary] to jeopardise the Selangor government,” he added.

Khalid said the state government’s priority would be to explain the issue to the Selangor public and the importance of changing the federal administration.

“Our last option is to amend the state constitution but after that we will have to accept Khusrin as the state secretary,” said Khalid.

The state government has been opposing the appointment of Khusrin as the state secretary, arguing that the Public Service Commission (PSC) did not consult the mentri besar before announcing the appointment.

It has even announced its intention to amend the state constitution by the end of the month to nullify Khusrin’s appointment and to restore the state’s power in the selection of senior officers.

Despite the objection, members of the state administration led by MB Khalid attended the swearing in ceremony before the Sultan but had vowed not to let Khusrin take his oath of secrecy to enable him to function as the state secretary.

Previously, former Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin had warned the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government that it risks losing Malay support from the state secretary dispute.

Nizar was accused of being a traitor after he disagreed with the Sultan of Perak who had refused to dissolve the state assembly prior to the defection of PR lawmakers which resulted in the collapse of the state government in 2009.

Courtesy of The Malaysian Insider
-Pejabat YB Khalid Samad-