Legal experts have differing views on his status as Selangor MB

PETALING JAYA: Will Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim still be Mentri Besar if he is sacked by PKR?

That’s a question that’s begging to be answered by even legal experts who have differing views.

International Islamic Univer­sity law lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Sham­rahayu A. Aziz believes Khalid’s position will not be affected but two others, Universiti Malaya’s Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar and Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, think Khalid must resign.

Dr Shamrahayu said Khalid would still be Mentri Besar as the sacking from PKR does not directly affect his position as a member of the state assembly.

“In order to become an MB, a person only needs to be a member of the state assembly and must command the assembly’s confidence.

“If PKR sacks Khalid, he will not automatically be disqualified from the MB post as long as he still commands majority support of the assembly,” she said.

She also noted that Khalid had the option to request for a dissolution of the state assembly from the Sultan of Selangor if he is faced with expulsion from the party.

Gurdial and Dr Abdul Aziz think otherwise, stressing that Khalid cannot remain as the Selangor Mentri Besar if he is booted out from PKR.

Gurdial said if that happens, Khalid must resign as the post of mentri besar can only be filled by a person from the party that commands majority support of the state legislative assembly.

“If he no longer has the confidence of the majority, he must resign. He can ask for a dissolution of the state legislative assembly, but according to convention, this is not an option if the coalition in control still has majority and can continue to rule,” he said.

Gurdial said the loss of confidence against the Mentri Besar can either be expressed through a vote of no confidence in the state assembly or by other means including a letter signed by all of the assemblymen, orally or via any other communication.

“The most important thing is that the Sultan must be satisfied that the majority no longer support the incumbent mentri besar,” he said.

Dr Abdul Aziz said that if PKR sacked Khalid, it was a sign that it had withdrawn support for him.

“If PKR decides to disown him, he has no other choice but to resign. That indicates he has lost part of his support from the state assembly,” he said.

On Sunday, Khalid insisted that the majority of the state assembly still had confidence in him so he will not resign.

Later, he received a show-cause letter by the PKR disciplinary committee on Tuesday to explain why he had defied orders from the party leadership to step down.