SHAH ALAM: The irony is not lost on Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. He is being treated as an outsider in his own party but has the support of PAS and DAP.

The embattled Selangor menteri besar, however, is showing that he is his own man in a brief interview with The Edge Financial Daily yesterday morning.

“I have no plans to step down as menteri besar just yet. They will have to be content with me,” he remarked when asked whether factions within PKR are unhappy with his administration, adding that he does not dole out contracts to supporters.

“There should not be an element of an insider in business,” said Khalid, known for his no-nonsense style of administration.

Khalid, perhaps emboldened by the fact that he has the support of PAS and DAP, said that they want him to serve out his term, which ends with the next dissolution of the state assembly for the 14th general election in 2017 or 2018.

It is an open secret that these two coalition partners insist that Khalid remains menteri besar instead of PKR’s preferred candidate, its deputy president and Anwar loyalist Azmin Ali.

The menteri besar was late for this interview at his office as he had to join Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya to announce that the de facto party leader would be standing for the Kajang state assembly seat in the upcoming by-election following the resignation of former state assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh.

Khalid said Pakatan Rakyat has “no plans” for Anwar to take over from him, and that the party had nominated Anwar for the Kajang state seat because he stood a better chance of winning the by-election. He noted that the appointment of Menteri Besar also depends on the consent of the Sultan.

“There is no intention of discussing the matter [with the Sultan], and we do not want to get to the point,” he added.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 29, 2014.