Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim will remain as Pakatan Rakyat state chairperson, despite stepping down as Selangor PKR chief, said party de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"He will remain in this role as it is not as burdensome as a formal party position... and he will strengthen the relationship between PKR DAP and PAS in Selangor," he told reporters at a function in Shah Alam today.

NONE The event, hosted by the state, to recognise a leadership award conferred to Khalid by his alma mater the University of Queensland, is his first joint public appearance with newly crowned Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali.

Cynics however dubbed the event today as a “farewell party” for Khalid, who had to relinquish his post to Azmin, which has been read as a compromise to mend an apparent rift between the duo.

The rift grew more apparent as Khalid's administration suffered severe attacks at the party congress in Kota Bharu in May.

One of the strongest criticisms is of the state bureaucracy, which some claim is hampering development in Selangor.

Touching on this today, Anwar urged Khalid to concentrate on speeding up state processes now that he is freed up from party work.

"The war with Umno is like a 'cold war' that can only be won with the help of the people... I have asked Khalid to understand this and to pay attention to expedite development programmes," he said.

Khalid and Azmin close ranks

Admitting this, Khalid said that he came into the job not wanting to take things apart, but to fix and improve processes where he could, even though it may take time.

He added that this is because resources are limited and it was wasteful to throw away what could still be used.

azlan "The Selangor government is still new but in politics a day is still too long," he said.

He also appeared to express relief at being spared from a party leadership position, having "come into it late in life" carrying a "different school of thought".

"Like it or not, the MB position is one that is obtained through a political path, or more accurately through party politics.

"In the corporate world orders from the top must be followed and the incentive for hard work is clear, this is not necessarily true for politics.

"The party made the right decision to appoint Azmin as he has more political experience than me," he said.

In an apparent bid to close ranks, Azmin today pledged to give his full cooperation to his alleged rival.

"Let us work together to strengthen Khalid's leadership as MB and to defend state policies for the prosperity of the state and people," he said.