Why Abdullah gave blessing for a one-race, one-religion Selangor state govt after March 8, 2008?

Former Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamad Khir Toyo thought he was doing the state, people and nation a great service when he tried to mid-wife a UMNO-PAS Selangor State Government after the March 8 general election.

He wrote on his blog that he arranged for a muzakarah between PAS leaders and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after the general election and offered PAS the mentri besar post, deputy mentri besar post as well as four executive councilors in a PAS-UMNO coalition government in Selangor to champion Malay interests.

There is some discrepancy in Khir’s account from that of Selangor PAS leader and MP for Shah Alam, Abdul Khalid Samad, who had attended the muzarakah, with the latter recounting that Khir wanted the Deputy Mentri Besar post although Khir claimed that he was willing to be left out of the state government line-up if that would encourage PAS to accept the “power-sharing”.

Khalid, who had described the muzarakah as “coloured with a racial agenda” of Umno, had denied that PAS harboured any intention of any power-sharing arrangement with UMNO in Selangor as PAS had already agreed to the proposal to name PKR’s Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Mentri Besar.

In the Berita Harian today, Khir was quoted as saying that discussion over his Umno-PAS power-sharing arrangement went on for four days but was unsuccessful because of external influences.

Right-thinking Malaysians must find it most shocking and outraged that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had just presided over a RM100 million 50th Merdeka national celebrations and repeatedly pledged to be Prime Minister of all Malaysians and not just for any one race, could give his blessing and endorse the formation of a one-race, one-religion government for the most advanced state in Malaysia – Selangor - in the year 2008!

Abdullah owes all Malaysians a full and proper explanation!

Lim Kit Siang