SHAH ALAM, Jan 9 – The Selangor government’s proposed changes to the state constitution are not only to resolve the state secretary impasse but “to right a wrong”, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said tonight.
The Selangor mentri besar said it was not right that the Selangor Sultan had his powers taken away by Umno in order to cement federal power over the state during the 1993 constitutional crisis.
“Umno was the one who took the powers away … but when we informed the Sultan that he did not have powers (of appointment), we were told not to act in a treasonous manner,” he said during a rally at Stadium Malawati here.
“Who committed treason? In 1993, they (Umno) had already committed treason.”
Khalid reiterated that the Selangor government would be making several resolutions later this month to ensure the power of appointment returns to the Sultan and state government.
He also dared Umno to object to the proposed constitutional amendments.
“We will see their true colours, if they really support the Sultan,” he said to cheers from the crowd.
Khalid added that “the drama will continue” until the power to appoint senior officers was returned to the state.
The country’s richest state has been in turmoil in recent weeks since the Chief Secretary to the federal government named Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi to the post to replace outgoing state secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud.
The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government has rejected Khusrin’s appointment and insists it has the right to name its own person for the job.
The row over Khusrin’s appointment has escalated to the point where the PKR-led state government is now seeking to implement constitutional amendments that will allow it to regain the pre-1993 authority to appoint the state’s secretary and other senior civil servants.
The Selangor MB also said that there would be no oath-taking ceremony between newly-appointed Khusrin and himself, adding that the latter will not be allowed to attend any executive council or state economic council meetings.-http://www.themalaysianinsider.com
