SHAH ALAM, Aug 25 – Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said today he would have an audience with the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, tomorrow to seek the ruler’s advice and guidance on his position as the Selangor menteri besar.
He said the audience was scheduled for 2.30 pm and he would address a press conference at 4 pm. Abdul Khalid was questioned by reporters on the latest political developments in Selangor after he had attended the monthly assembly for Selangor government departments here.
Sultan Sharafuddin had requested Abdul Khalid to refrain from making any statement on his position as the menteri besar until after the ruler had returned on Aug 27 from an overseas trip. However, the sultan cut short his trip and returned last Saturday.
Abdul Khalid had refused to resign as the menteri besar in keeping with a decision of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leadership for him to step down for PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take over. PKR subsequently sacked him from the party.
In addressing the assembly earlier, Abdul Khalid said he was fortunate to have been given the opportunity and trust to serve the people of Selangor since March 2008.
“I used every day of my administration to empower the state administration in terms of finance, policies and self-esteem of the officers in government departments and government-linked companies. “I believe we have registered a success that we can all be proud of,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said, certain quarters including political parties were uncomfortable with these efforts and hurled allegations such as by saying that the memorandum of understanding with the federal government on the restructuring of the state’s water supply industry was beyond the control of the state government.
Citing the allegations as slander, Abdul Khalid explained that Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) would take over all the interests of the water concessionaires and the federal government would issue the appropriate water licences to KDEB.
Abdul Khalid recited the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling to paint the scenario of the difficult situation he was in following the decision of Pakatan Rakyat to force him our of the menteri besar’s seat.
The Port Klang assemblyman expressed disappointment over the various allegations hurled at him over the political upheaval in Selangor, including about his personal loan from Bank Islam.
Abdul Khalid said the country had a good banking system because it had guidelines governing the procedures for obtaining personal loans and the public should know that every loan was confidential and could not be made public.
“I wish to clarify that there is nothing strange about settling a personal loan out of court … everything was done with transparency … no one derived any benefit from the settlement,” he said.
– BERNAMA
