The New Selangor State Secretary issue, in the political imbroglio that followed, MB Khalid is fast running out of options

Towards the end of 2010 a seemingly normal appointment of the new State Secretary(SS) of Selangor, Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi effective 1st January 2011 was announced by the Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan on 26 December. It was later confirmed by the Selangor Palace that the appointment has been consented by the DYMM Sultan of Selangor.

Our straight talking no nonsense KSN Tan Sri Mohd Sidek 

Unfortunately for the ordinary Selangor folks, the Selangor Pakatan MB YAB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said that he has other ideas and said that he was not informed of SS Khusrin's appointment. His State Government also has a list of 3 candidates for the SS Post which by the way does not include Khusrin's name. Read TS Khalid's First January 2010 statement here. An inevitable  political battle royale  is shaping up now. The issue of the new Selangor SS is now officially politicised.

Anyway Federal Minister (defacto Law Minister) YB Nazri waded into the issue on 29 December 2010. He said "Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has no right to reject the appointment of Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) director Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the new state secretary. There was not even a requirement to seek the menteri besar's approval in appointing the new state secretary, the Menteri besar was only informed of the appointment as a matter of courtesy. So the appointment of Khusrin as the new state secretary stands. The appointment was "done properly", he explained that the appointment of an officer for the post was previously done by the sultan.

"Since the constitution was amended, the appointment of all officers is done by the Public Service Commission."The commission then delegates it to a board consisting of the Chief Secretary to the Government, the Public Service Department's director-general and others in making the decision. This applied to states which previously formed the Federated Malay States, namely Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Perak, so all public officers were federal officers"

Not to be outdone, PKR Adun for Sri Muda came up with an opinion of his own, read here. For that he may be a regarded a Hero for the Pakatan supporters. Others think that he has committed derhaka. I think he is just an idiot who accidentally won the Adun post in 2008.

Independent MP YB Zul Nordin wasn't impressed with the statements coming from the Selangor MB's office nor from Adun Sri Muda, read here. Even suggesting a police report be made against PKR Adun for Sri Muda: "Khusus bagi mereka yang mengugut Tuanku Sultan, teman cadangkan pertuduhan dibawah Seksyen 121 Kanun Keseksaan dikenakan terhadap mereka kerana pada teman perbuatan mengugut Tuanku Sultan Selangor tersebut adalah “perbuatan memerangi Raja-Raja Melayu” yang jika sabit kesalahan hendaklah mereka itu dihukum bunuh sampai mati. Atau sebagai alternatif hendaklah mereka dikenakan pertuduhan dibawah Seksyen 121 (1B) kerana “merancang, mengada-ada, mereka-reka atau berusaha akan pemecatan atau perlucutan Raja pemerintah sebuah negeri” yang jika sabit kesalahan hendaklah dihukum penjara sepanjang hayat, iaitu sampai mati didalam penjara. Ini bukan perbuatan yang boleh dibiarkan, apatah lagi bertolak ansur dengannya kerana amatlah biadap lagi kurang ajar bagi mana-mana rakyat dinegeri Selangor khususnya melakukan perbuatan derhaka saperti itu. Bagi maksud ini, teman mencadangkan kepada mana-mana individu rakyat Selangor supaya segera membuat lapuran polis menurut Seksyen 121 atau Seksyen 121 (1B) supaya tindakan segera boleh diambil"

A police report was promptly made against the Adun who crossed the line today on 3 January 2011, read here.

Anyway, the Selangor MB did managed to get an audience with the DYMM Sultan of Selangor today 3rd January 2011  MB Khalid was however told by the Sultan that he had no powers under the Selangor Constitution to either reject or accept the candidate for the SS post presented to him by the Public Service Commission (SPA). The MB left the Palace in the same position he came in but with some advise from the DYMM Sultan to settle the matter with the SPA which appointed SS Khusrin after consent was given by the Royal Highness, read here. In a deft stroke,  the DYMM Sultan remains above the political fracas and his reputation remains high. 


The setahun jagung Adun from Sri Muda should be tarred and feathered for attempting to embarass the DYMM Sultan, I hope the police report on him be investigated under the relevant criminal code.

In the meantime at 6:45 am on 3rd January 2010, the new Selangor SS, Datuk Khusrin reported for duty as the new State Secretary of Selangor and declared that he have no political agenda and as long as there is no directive from the Federal Level he shall remain as the State Secretary, read here for more news on the Datuk SS first day.

Obviously not satisfied with the outcome of the day meet with the DYMM Sultan, the MB and his Pakatan excos had declared the SS persona non grata, Khalid said the new SS Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi would not be sworn in before him and, given this, could not attend state-related meetings deemed confidential, including the weekly executive council meeting. Khalid also said that the he and the executive council members would not attend any function commemorating Mohd Khusrin’s appointment. The Selangor state government also wanted the state constitution amended to return the power of appointing the state secretary to the Sultan and the Mentri Besar.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said he had asked Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim to call for an emergency state legislative assembly meeting to discuss making amendments to the state constitution. 

These guys are real scary politicians, so vengeful, sudah jadi macam kerajaan fahaman facist, imagine if these people God forbid accidentally become Federal Government, they will change the laws to suit their political fancy and its would never be about the rakyat. Malaysia will be one chaotic place. 


What follows are comments from Hafarizam Harun UMNO/BN legal advisor:

Khalid acting unconstitutionally, says BN lawyer
By Debra Chong January 03, 2011(MI)

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Umno lawyer Datuk Hafarizam Harun today said Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has exceeded his authority in barring the new state secretary from carrying out his job, in a move he said could disrupt the state’s civil service. The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s legal advisor added that the MB was treading on dangerous ground by doing so and could be challenged in court.

“If it is true that the MB will stop the state secretary from being in the exco or legislative assembly sitting, my answer is that he has no power to do so because the power to sit [in on the meetings] is a constitutional power granted to the state secretary upon his appointment.


“The MB must allow him to attend,” Hafarizam said.


The lawyer said the MB’s actions would also jeopardise the administration of the state, and the effect would be felt on the ground.


“The MB also cannot run the state civil service. Legally, the MB cannot interfere in the day-to-day running of the state"


“The MB cannot give instructions to the civil service unless he goes through the state secretary first,” he said, and added: “Because the head of the state civil service is the state secretary.”

Hafarizam said that if Khalid were to give instructions directly to the various state departments and agencies, he would be “acting in excess of his power and whatever acts pursuant to it would be considered coercion and ultra vires”.

“Which means it can be challenged in a court of law,” he said.

Hafarizam was responding to Khalid’s latest move after an emergency audience with the Selangor Sultan at the palace in Shah Alam late this morning.


Immediately after his meeting with the state Ruler, Khalid had declared he would not accept the oath of secrecy from Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi, who is Putrajaya’s pick for the state’s No. 1 civil officer post.


The MB added that Khusrin would be blocked from attending all meetings by the state executive council and the state economic action council as an ex-officio.

Hafarizam pointed to Section 52 of the Selangor constitution that spells out the conditions for the appointment of the state’s top three civil officer posts — state secretary, legal adviser and financial officer — that reads:


“(1) There shall be constituted the offices of State Secretary, State Legal Advisor and State Financial Officer; and the appointments thereto shall be made by the appropriate Service Commission from amongst members of any of the relevant public services.


“(3) Every such official shall have the right to take part in the proceedings of the State Executive Council and the Legislative Assembly and may be appointed to any Committee thereof, but shall not have any vote in the State Executive Council or the Legislative Assembly or any such Committee.


“(4) Before any such official attends a meeting of the State Executive Council, he shall take and subscribe in the presence of the Mentri Besar the following Oath of Secrecy.”

Hafarizam noted that the Selangor constitution showed Khusrin’s appointment was legal and the MB was not in a position to challenge it.

“Historically, Selangor was a federated Malay state. Its civil service is not closed; meaning anyone from the federation can be seconded to be state secretary,” he explained.


“So the appointment has to go through the SPA,” he said, calling the Public Service Commission by its Malay acronym.

Khalid had also announced his plans to call for an emergency sitting of the state legislative assembly to change the constitution, supposedly to change the state constitution to give the Sultan and the MB some say in the appointment of the state’s civil servants.


The Selangor Sultan was reported to have admitted he had no say in the appointment.

However, Hafarizam was scornful of Khalid’s attempts.


“The siding tergempar [emergency sitting] is an exercise in futility,” he said, explaining that in order to pass the amendment, two-thirds of the assemblymen must agree with Khalid.

“They are one short,” he pointed out that there were only 35 PR assemblymen in the Dewan Undangan Negeri.


“Do you think the BN will agree to that?” he asked.

No way Jose, I would say, read more here. Also read the Selangor Perlembagaan here.


This political fracas is giving us layman an unprecedented study and analysis of the Constitution through many expert opinions. Soon on 6th January 2011 the new SS Datuk Khusrin will be sworn-in,  in front of the DYMM Sultan. By then the options for the Selangor Pakatan Government will be severely limited. 


The State Civil Service is headed by the SS and the MB or his Exco will have to find a way to work with him, failing to work together and disrespecting the consent of the Sultan to the appointment of SS Datuk Khusrin will result in unprecedented pressure on the State Government as they could not implement their policy by bypassing the SS. 


Whichever way the Pakatan Government looked at it, without a 2/3rd majority in the DUN, it seems that they have painted themselves into a corner, a mess that they themselves created.

BN Chairman and his able Deputy must surely be smiling from ear to ear seeing what mess the Selangor Pakatan Government had gotten themselves into, he, he.

I hope that MB Khalid Ibrahim would not have any funny  ideas about organising another street demonstration starting from the Mesjid Negara to protest the SS of Selangor appointment by the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam. The people in KL are just sick and tired of jam causing demonstrations on a weekend by the Pakatan supporters that is for sure.