In Taman Kem, Port Klang, residents of a crumbling low-cost flat scheme in the Selangor port city are worried that their dreams of getting safer and better homes have been dashed by PKR.
While in downtown Petaling Jaya, house owners fighting the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) elevated highway project that will tear through their neighbourhoods, are sceptical that a new menteri besar will solve their problems.
These are some examples of how the impasse over the Selangor menteri besar job has affected and will continue to impact on the lives of ordinary residents in the country's wealthiest state.
Their feelings towards Khalid and confusion over a PKR plan to replace him reflect eroding confidence in Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR), which won the state for a second term in the 2013 general election.
Compounding matters was Khalid’s decision on Tuesday to sack executive councillors from PKR and DAP, effectively ending the PR government in Selangor.
But, he has retained four PAS exco members. How long this will last is still anyone's guess, as the Islamist party had said it will not make a stand on the Selangor government until Sunday.
This drama aside, many are still scratching their heads over why PR wants to get rid of a man, who to them, symbolised honest, disciplined and responsive government.
At the same time, there is distrust towards PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who has been picked by PKR to replace Khalid.
PR has a huge task ahead in bringing around the state’s wired and critical residents to its plan to change Selangor’s popular chief executive.
Noble aims, poor execution
Jafri has been fielding calls from worried neighbours ever since news broke that Khalid was being replaced.
For the past five years, owners of the 30-year-old Taman Kem flats have been working with the state government to redevelop their neighbourhood.
In the 1970s, the four-storey flats were built for urban settlers who lived in ramshackle huts on government land across the road from the country’s busiest port.
But after 30 years, the flats are literally falling apart. Ceiling and roof tiles have broken off leaving holes for rainwater to seep through into the homes.
The ancient water pumps, said Jafri, break down every two years. When that happens, a whole block will not have any water supply.
Ever since PR took over, residents along with the state government have been hard at work over a plan to demolish the blocks. Owners will then get brand new units in a 15-storey tower.
A prime mover of the plan, said Jafri, had been Khalid.
“He and his officers have helped us organise a committee to push the plan through and get the support of all owners,” said Jafri, who only wanted to be identified by his first name.
Now that Khalid is getting pushed out, the committee is worried that the plan would be stuck on the back burner.
“We’ve been quite satisfied with him so far. If there are problems or delays, it’s because of the people below him.”
This distinction between Khalid’s noble intentions and the poor implementation down the line is a theme repeated by residents elsewhere in Klang.
“It’s MPK (Klang Municipal Council) that’s the problem," said Pandamaran resident Suresh, when asked whether he was satisfied with Khalid's performance as menteri besar.
He then lists a string of problems, such as traffic jams, unsafe roads, clogged drains and uncollected rubbish.
"The guy has the whole state to handle, he can't just concentrate on one area's problems," said another Port Klang resident Wan Azhar Wan Mohamed.
Khalid’s reputation for saving public money and channelling them through a slew of programmes, such as free water and cash aid for senior citizens, got him elected a second term.
Collective responsibility
About 40 minutes away, in Petaling Jaya, the pro-PR wave has soured after residents found out about the controversial Kidex project.
At 14.9km, the elevated highway would cut through some of the oldest and densest neighbourhoods in the Klang Valley.
A group of residents have banded together to shut down the project, which they claimed would endanger lives, increase noise pollution and worsen already clogged roads.
They are angry that the Selangor PR government has allowed the Putrajaya-approved project through, but opinion is divided on who should be blamed.
Committee member Mak Khuin Weng (pic, right) for instance, says the responsibility lies with the whole state executive committee that approved the project in 2012.
Others blame Khalid and want him replaced with another PR state lawmaker.
“Some say, it is Khalid’s fault, but no government decision comes out of one person... The minutes of the (2012) meeting showed this.
“If the excos did not support the project, then why are they not coming out to say it? Why are they keeping silent?” asked Mak.
Khalid being replaced won’t solve the issue, he said, as the problem lies with Selangor PR.
“Until this day, I have not heard PR say they will shut down the project even with a new MB. Khalid goes, the problem will still stay with us.”
The popular outsider
One reason Khalid has been popular is due to his image as an “outsider”, said political analyst Dr Wong Chin Huat.
This image is opposed to that of the seasoned political insider which people think is a charming wheeler and dealer.
This dynamic can also be seen in the case of recently elected Indonesian President Joko Wikodo, United States President Barrack Obama and the Aam Aadmi Party in India, said Wong of the Penang Institute.
But the thing about Khalid is that he was not elected directly by people to be menteri besar, said Wong.
In the rules of parliamentary politics, Khalid owes his post to the coalition who chose him.
Another analyst, Ibrahim Suffian of the Merdeka Center said perception of Khalid may change as each day passes in the crisis, going from a selfless public servant to one who was self-serving.
“Khalid's popularity may stand for nothing the longer he clings on to power.
“Pakatan will have to face public scepticism over its abilities to run a government and dissension among its coalition partners alone.”
The coalition could lose Selangor if it is unable to convincingly explain the crisis and the way forward if a snap election is held, said Ibrahim.
But even before snap elections, Selangor residents have already formed their own opinions towards PKR’s plan.
“Khalid has been good. Why replace him?” said Ismail Madon, a 44-year-old resident of Port Klang.
“And in fact why replace him with someone who was not even born and brought up in Selangor?”
For unlike Khalid, in Wan Azizah’s case, being an “outsider” is not likely to help PR in Selangor. – August 15, 2014.
