Khalid to take oath as S'gor MB tomorrow

Khalid to take oath as S'gor MB tomorrow

Ki Mae Heussner | Mar 12, 08 6:51pm

PKR secretary-general and Ijok state assemblyperson Khalid Ibrahim will be sworn in as the new Selangor menteri besar tomorrow. The ceremony will take place at 2pm at Istana Bukit Kayangan. He is then expected to name his exco members in the next few days. While it has been known for some days now that Khalid would be the new menteri besar, the main problem faced by the PKR-DAP-PAS government-in-waiting has been the choice of the deputy menteri besar. It has been agreed that a DAP candidate would be nominated for the post but the party seem to be undecided on who should be that person. At the same time, there are also apprehensions, especially from the Selangor palace, that the post should go to a Malay as well. Earlier today, the Sultan Selangor's private secretary Mohamad Munir Bani said that state laws stipulate that only a Malay Muslim can be appointed as the menteri besar. Likewise, he added, it was also preferable that a deputy menteri besar should also be a Malay Muslim. Muhamad Munir also said that the swearing in ceremony of the new menteri besar would take place by this week. JAG supports Kok While Khalid deliberates on whom to appoint as his deputy, a gender equality action group has called for the appointed of Teresa Kok, the Kinrara state assemblyperson and Seputeh member of parliament, for the post. Although she is reluctant to comment on the issue, speculation is rife that Kok is a strong contender for the post. She even visited the Sultan of Selangor yesterday relating to this matter. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) today said that Kok's appointment to the post would signal a new "era of equality and non-discrimination" in the highly industrialised state. JAG cited Kok's experience and diplomacy in supporting her nomination for Selangor's number two position, and also emphasised the need to increase women's participation in higher-level politics. "Apart from Teresa's undeniable knowledge, experience and boundless energy which by itself should be the basis of her appointment as timbalan mentri besar, her appointment would also make good some of the promises made by the component parties now forming the Selangor state government," added JAG. Other DAP frontrunners The JAG press statement also called on the now-ruling parties to make good on their 1999 endorsement of JAG's Women's Agenda for Change that included a 30 percent goal for women in key decision-making positions. "Teresa's appointment will signal that the Selangor state government is ready to embrace a new era. An era of equality and non-discrimination," said the group. If appointed, Kok would be Malaysia's first woman deputy mentri besar. On top of being a state assemblyperson and MP, Kok is also expected to be an exco member in the state. When contacted, Kok refused to confirm if she had been given the go-ahead by her party for the deputy MB post. And when asked how she would balance four powerful positions, if appointed deputy MB, she referenced others who had juggled multiple responsibilities and said, "Why not?" Other names on the short-list for the deputy position from DAP include Ronnie Liu who won the Pandaraman state seat and Teng Chang Khim of Sungai Pinang. It is learnt that the party is undecided on who to nominate for the post despite numerous discussions on the matter. The central leadership if however believed to favour Kok. Sultan’s constitutional role Meanwhile, senior constitutional lawyer and former UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Param Cumaraswamy said that the Selangor sultan has no constitutional power to call for the deputy mentri besar to be a Malay. “With respect, his highness should not be seen reading into the Constitution what is not there,” he said in a statement today. He added that while the Selangor state constitution provided for the appointment of deputy mentri besar by the sultan, yet such appointment was actually to be made on the advice of the mentri besar from among the members of the state executive council. He said that after appointing the mentri besar, the sultan would then appoint not more than 10 from the state assembly, on the advice of the menteri besar, to the state executive council. “It is among these 10 members of the executive council does the sultan appoints a deputy mentri besar again on the advice of the mentri besar,” he said.