Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim late this evening clarified his statement made yesterday, saying he has no plan to shake-up the state cabinet anytime soon.

"There is always a possibility, but it is not urgent at this moment," he told Malaysiakini when asked if a state exco reshuffle was imminent.

"If there is any real change, we will make it public.

"Any statement now would be nothing more than speculation," Khalid added.

Khalid said this in response to two Pakatan Rakyat leaders who, commenting earlier today on the MB's statement yesterday, said there was no sign of any imminent shake-up.

NONESelangor state exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah told Malaysiakini that there had been no discussion about any reshuffle at recent exco meetings.

The matter was also not discussed during any of the Selangor DAP state committee meetings, said the Selangor DAP secretary.

Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali also said the party has never discussed specifically about a state exco reshuffle.

“We have regular retreats with the mentri besar, backbenchers and exco members to discuss various issues... In the end, the MB will decide what form of action is to be taken, either revisit the state policies or the necessity of a reshuffle.

“It is the prerogative of the mentri besar,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

Component parties have a say

According to another DAP state leader, who declined to be named, Khalid has the power as mentri besar to pick his cabinet, but politically, he has to obtain consent from Pakatan component parties that form the coalition government.

“Whether to drop DAP leaders from the state cabinet or to switch their portfolios, Khalid needs to discuss this with the party leadership first. This is our right,” said the leader.

DAP has 13 state seats in Selangor, the same as PKR, while PAS controls eight seats and PSM has one seat.

selangor state exco list 2008In the state cabinet, DAP and PAS both hold three exco posts while PKR has the other four.

The three DAP exco members are Teresa Kok (Investment, Industry and Trade), Ronnie Liu (Local Government, Study and Research) and Ean Yong (New Village Development and Illegal Factory Settlements).

DAP wants Ronnie to stay

The speculation over an exco reshuffle intensified after Khalid met Selangor backbenchers at his official residence last month to discuss governance issues.

Several backbenchers expressed their complaints about Liu, who has been entangled in alleged scandals and allegations since he was appointed an exco member in 2008.

Following this, Khalid admitted yesterday that there had been discussions between him and his colleagues “about strengthening the Selangor state administration”.

However he refused to confirm whether an exco reshuffle is on the cards.

Liu, dubbed “the son of Jade Emperor” due to his repeated ability to survive political turmoil, was booted out from the DAP state committee in the party’s internal polls last November.

However, it is learnt that the party leadership still wants him to remain in the state administration, despite some quarters claiming that he has become a liability for Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor.