Water deal reveals cracks in PKR's leadership

KUALA LUMPUR - Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim is facing open criticism from within his own party over a landmark agreement he signed to buy the state's water companies from the federal government, signalling a widening rift in the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

The agreement was meant to break a deadlock over the water assets of Malaysia's richest state, which controls 20 per cent of the country's economy and suffers periodic water shortages.

But the deal signed last week apparently came as a surprise to his colleagues at PKR, the party led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and at a tenuous time too, with a key by-election looming.

Mr Rafizi Ramli, strategy director for PKR, openly criticised Tan Sri Khalid for not making the Feb 26 deal transparent as it involved public funds.

"I'm faced with a dilemma when the Selangor government under Pakatan Rakyat signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) on the water restructuring with its contents kept secret from the public," he said in a statement on Monday.

Mr Rafizi, a chartered accountant, claimed that the exercise could cost Selangor up to RM20 billion (S$7.7 billion), or RM9.65 billion for the water companies and at least RM8 billion for a new water treatment plant called Langat 2.

But Mr Khalid, in defending the deal - four years in negotiations - said he did not reveal the MOU as he was legally barred from doing so.

Analysts say Mr Rafizi's move makes the party's leadership appear fractious.

That could hurt the performance of his boss, Datuk Seri Anwar, in the Kajang by-election on March 23, although he is still expected to win.

"It means the leadership has created an atmosphere of mistrust. If the party cannot trust a senior leader like Khalid, what does (that) say about unity at the top?" asked Dr James Chin, a political analyst at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

The ruling Barisan Nasional is likely to capitalise on PKR's bickering. "If Anwar wins by even a lower majority, it will look bad for the Pakatan Rakyat," said Professor Shaharuddin Badaruddin, political scientist at Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Feuding in the PKR is worrying its political allies.

"Anwar's real enemies in the Kajang by-election are not independents", or the Malaysian Chinese Association or Umno, veteran Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang said in a statement on Sunday, but "internal feuds and infighting".

lestkong@sph.com.sg

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