Malaysian state leader to quit following bitter row
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KUALA LUMPUR - The governor of Malaysia's most populous state said Tuesday he would resign after a weeks-long bitter political impasse over calls for his removal, which threatened to split apart the country's fast-rising opposition.
Khalid Ibrahim, chief minister of the opposition-controlled industrial hub of Selangor, was expelled from the party of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim earlier this month for refusing party instructions to vacate his appointed post.
The move could help lower temperatures in the row, which set Anwar's People's Justice Party and the Democratic Action Party against their Islamic party partner in a formidable tripartite opposition coalition.
The Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) had pledged its support for Khalid, bringing the opposition coalition to the brink until PAS reversed course under pressure on August 17.
The multi-racial, multi-faith opposition alliance known as Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) won the state in 2008 polls, the jewel in a recent haul of election gains that has put severe pressure on the country's long-ruling, Muslim-dominated government.
Khalid, now an independent, will continue administering the state until the opposition can get a replacement approved by the state's sultan.
AFP
