KOTA KINABALU: The sacking of Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) did not come as a surprise to former PKR Sabah vice chairman Datuk Jelani Hamdan.
Jelani when asked to comment about the Selangor Menteri Besar issue, said that it was expected as Khalid had openly defied PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s instructions.
The Matunggong assemblyman who claimed to know Anwar well, said that with the latter, it was usually ‘my way or the highway’.
“Party leaders and members must obey him and abide by his decisions even though it may not be agreed by many,” Jelani said during a media luncheon yesterday.
He cited for example the process of appointing the opposition chief for Sabah where all Pakatan Rakyat leaders must abide by Anwar’s decisions even though a few of the elected representatives did not agree with it.
He was of the opinion that if an ‘outsider’ like PKR president Datuk Dr Wan Azizah can be appointed Selangor Menteri Besar, then there is a possibility that an ‘outsider’ will be appointed to lead in Sabah.
“It is not impossible that if Pakatan Rakyat comes into power in Sabah, Anwar may appoint Nurul Izzah to lead the state as he is of the opinion that no one from Sabah’s Pakatan Rakyat is qualified for the post,” he said.
“In my opinion if you no longer agree with Anwar, it is better to resign from the party … just like what I did,” he said.
On his status as a Barisan Nasional friendly independent assemblyman, Jelani said that he will remain as such for the time being as there is no rush to join any party.
“My struggle is for the rakyat and I will support any action that will benefit the rakyat whether it is championed by BN or the opposition,” he said.
PKR Api-Api assemblywoman Christina Liew said the leaders and members of PKR understand the reasons to sack Khalid.
She said leaders and members of PKR will stand together with the decision of the party.
“The supreme council accepted the recommendation unanimously of the party’s disciplinary committee to sack Tan Sri Khalid after much deliberation,” she said.