Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim nearly lost his job two nights ago but PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim rejected the proposal from party deputy president Azmin Ali and his supporters angry over the latter's removal from the board of state developer PKNS.
Media understands the proposal was hotly debated at the central leadership council meeting on Wednesday night.
Khalid is not a member of the party's decision-making council chaired by Anwar.
"I didn't attend the meeting last night because of other matters but I was told of the matter," Selangor executive councillor Elizabeth Wong told Media.
The central leadership council member confirmed that Azmin proposed that PKR fire Khalid as menteri besar but Anwar rejected it.
"The proposal was hotly debated during the meeting but Anwar ultimately rejected the idea of dismissing Khalid," another source said.
Khalid's press secretary Arfa-eza Aziz told The Malaysian Insider that they had also heard about the proposal forwarded at the meeting.
Khalid is serving his second term as menteri besar although PKR only holds 14 state seats while its partners, DAP and PAS, hold 15 seats each in the 56-seat assembly after the 2013 general election.
But the popular Khalid holds no party posts while Azmin is Selangor PKR chief. Both are seen as Anwar's confidantes but are also political rivals in the party, which is due to hold elections soon.
Azmin has been in the headlines recently after being relieved of his position on the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) board recently.
Sources said Azmin's dissatisfaction at being removed from the PKNS board was the main reason he suggested that Khalid be sacked as the Selangor MB.
Anwar ticked off the state government yesterday for removing Azmin from the PKNS board, saying the party deputy president was meant to serve there until 2015.
However, Khalid has clarified that neither he nor the state executive council had ever decided to remove Azmin.
"The decision was made by the PKNS general manager Othman Omar," Khalid said.
Anwar has disputed Khalid's statement, saying Azmin's removal was invalid as only Khalid and the state exco had the authority to remove PKNS board members.
State officials said Othman had sent a letter to Azmin on January 8 informing the latter of his removal from the PKNS board.
The letter had been sent because the exco paper which had been sent to PKNS did not contain Azmin's name on the list of the board of directors.
The column for Azmin's name had been left blank.
The state exco had only decided to enter two names, Iskandar Samad from PAS and DAP's Datuk Teng Chan Khim.
The third name was absent from the exco paper, they said.
But based on the paper they had received, PKNS presumed that Azmin had been fired from his position.
However, Khalid's office has disputed PKNS's move and acting without referring to the chairman of the board, who is the Selangor MB.
Khalid's office said there was a strong possibility that Khalid wanted to hold discussions with his party first before making any appointments.
He has now said the matter would be discussed further without putting a deadline to decide Azmin's position in the board.
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