According to political scientist, Dr Wong Chin Huat,
'It should be noted that the idea of Anwar leading Selangor was actually raised by Liew Chin Tong in 2005 when the opposition was still recovering from the near wipeout in 2004 – surviving in only 10% of federal constituencies. It would have given a boost to the opposition and a two-step strategy to power would also appeal to more skeptical voters. Now DAP's top strategist but then a nobody, Liew's idea was not taken seriously by anybody in the party. Having interviewed Tengku Razaleigh then for my PhD thesis, I was illuminated by Liew's insight to see clearer the winner-takes-all nature of our political system and its implications.
It's great that Anwar has finally learned to be realistic. The resignation-by-election route – used by PKR in Permatang Pauh in 2008 and Penanti in 2009 – would probably irk many voters who see arrogance in PKR as it seemingly takes voters' support for granted. They should perhaps not miss a greater benefit from the democratic stand point – by having the Pakatan Rakyat supremo to head Selangor, Anwar will have to bear full responsibility for the successes and failures in the governance of Selangor. Unlike in the case of Khalid, no one can pull Anwar's legs in the name of party leadership. If Anwar fails to take Selangor better than Khalid does, he should really just retire. If he does better than Khalid, we know regime change in Putrajaya would truly mean a better tomorrow.'
More:
To Putrajaya via Shah Alam – the maturing of Anwar Ibrahim by Wong Chin Huat
http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/to-putrajaya-via-shah-alam-maturing-of.html
(Attached to Penang Institute, Wong Chin Huat is a political scientist by training and a political activist by choice. He believes that like it or not, we are witnesses to history. We can choose to shape it or be shaped by it.')
Meanwhile, Rafizi takes full responsibility for this tactical move by PKR...
By the way, Tricia Yeoh's take on who can be Mentri Besar of Selangor:
'First, to be a mentri besar, the only conditions the Selangor state constitution has are that the person is to be Malay, professes the Muslim religion and is a Malaysian citizen by birth. The person does not need to be born in Selangor itself, which some have wrongly assumed.
Second, it is the Ruler of the State (the Sultan of Selangor) who appoints the mentri besar from among the Legislative Assembly "who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly". In this case, it can be argued that it would simply be a matter of the current mentri besar resigning and making this known to the Sultan, who would then proceed to appoint someone else whom he believes to command the majority of the assembly.
In fact, there has been exact precedence to this, where in 1997, a Selangor state legislative seat was vacated in order for Tan Sri Abu Hassan Omar, who was then federal minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs, to run in a by-election and therefore be appointed the Selangor mentri besar. The previous mentri besar, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, resigned in order for this to take place.
The constitution states that "if the mentri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly", two options are available: either
a) The mentri besar requests for the Sultan to dissolve the Legislative Assembly, or b) If he does not request as such, then he tenders the resignation of the State Executive Council (Exco), which includes himself.
These steps would be straightforward enough if two assumptions hold true: First, that the mentri besar would resign of his own accord and second, that the Sultan would agree to the newly proposed name.
If, however, the mentri besar chooses not to resign, this is where it gets tricky...'
More:
http://www.thesundaily.my/node/239361
What happened in Selangor in 1997 inspired LAT to come out with this cartoon which was published in the NST on April 30, 1997...
Link
'It should be noted that the idea of Anwar leading Selangor was actually raised by Liew Chin Tong in 2005 when the opposition was still recovering from the near wipeout in 2004 – surviving in only 10% of federal constituencies. It would have given a boost to the opposition and a two-step strategy to power would also appeal to more skeptical voters. Now DAP's top strategist but then a nobody, Liew's idea was not taken seriously by anybody in the party. Having interviewed Tengku Razaleigh then for my PhD thesis, I was illuminated by Liew's insight to see clearer the winner-takes-all nature of our political system and its implications.
It's great that Anwar has finally learned to be realistic. The resignation-by-election route – used by PKR in Permatang Pauh in 2008 and Penanti in 2009 – would probably irk many voters who see arrogance in PKR as it seemingly takes voters' support for granted. They should perhaps not miss a greater benefit from the democratic stand point – by having the Pakatan Rakyat supremo to head Selangor, Anwar will have to bear full responsibility for the successes and failures in the governance of Selangor. Unlike in the case of Khalid, no one can pull Anwar's legs in the name of party leadership. If Anwar fails to take Selangor better than Khalid does, he should really just retire. If he does better than Khalid, we know regime change in Putrajaya would truly mean a better tomorrow.'
More:
To Putrajaya via Shah Alam – the maturing of Anwar Ibrahim by Wong Chin Huat
http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/to-putrajaya-via-shah-alam-maturing-of.html
(Attached to Penang Institute, Wong Chin Huat is a political scientist by training and a political activist by choice. He believes that like it or not, we are witnesses to history. We can choose to shape it or be shaped by it.')
Meanwhile, Rafizi takes full responsibility for this tactical move by PKR...
By the way, Tricia Yeoh's take on who can be Mentri Besar of Selangor:
'First, to be a mentri besar, the only conditions the Selangor state constitution has are that the person is to be Malay, professes the Muslim religion and is a Malaysian citizen by birth. The person does not need to be born in Selangor itself, which some have wrongly assumed.
Second, it is the Ruler of the State (the Sultan of Selangor) who appoints the mentri besar from among the Legislative Assembly "who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly". In this case, it can be argued that it would simply be a matter of the current mentri besar resigning and making this known to the Sultan, who would then proceed to appoint someone else whom he believes to command the majority of the assembly.
In fact, there has been exact precedence to this, where in 1997, a Selangor state legislative seat was vacated in order for Tan Sri Abu Hassan Omar, who was then federal minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs, to run in a by-election and therefore be appointed the Selangor mentri besar. The previous mentri besar, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, resigned in order for this to take place.
The constitution states that "if the mentri besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly", two options are available: either
a) The mentri besar requests for the Sultan to dissolve the Legislative Assembly, or b) If he does not request as such, then he tenders the resignation of the State Executive Council (Exco), which includes himself.
These steps would be straightforward enough if two assumptions hold true: First, that the mentri besar would resign of his own accord and second, that the Sultan would agree to the newly proposed name.
If, however, the mentri besar chooses not to resign, this is where it gets tricky...'
More:
http://www.thesundaily.my/node/239361
What happened in Selangor in 1997 inspired LAT to come out with this cartoon which was published in the NST on April 30, 1997...
More update:
Tommy Thomas: NO constitutional crisis over MB in Selangor...
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=221502:no-constitutional-crisis-over-mb-change-in-sgor-tommy-thomas&Itemid=2#axzz2s7cGYFep
Tommy Thomas: NO constitutional crisis over MB in Selangor...
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=221502:no-constitutional-crisis-over-mb-change-in-sgor-tommy-thomas&Itemid=2#axzz2s7cGYFep
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