Click 4 Malaysia

Has the Pakatan Rakyat led Selangor government fallen into a sand trap dug up by their own men but cleverly exploited by Barisan Nasional (BN)?

It was certainly an option many in the Pakatan Rakyat fold had not anticipated, especially Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who had no notion that the sand mining issue will blow out of proportions and into a sand storm that has caused some irreparable damage for him personally, and to the Selangor state government.

Being a corporate man, Khalid took a more business-like approach, instead of an analytical approach, that was to prove a dreadful mistake as it had led to an internal revolt that almost threatened to put sand in his rice bowl (Menteri Besar's post).

Such was Khalid's credentials as a young analyst that he led a Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) delegation to carry out a "dawn raid" on the London Stock Exchange in 1981, sending ripples globally, but wresting control of the then British plantation group Guthrie - all within a matter of hours, and much was expected of him when he was appointed the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

He later became a much sought after CEO when heading Kumpulan Guthrie, the giant palm oil and property player (1995 to 2003) while his name was often bandied about as a poster boy of the Bumiputera legacy, wrote a Singapore journalist who trailed his achievements.

Based on his vast experience and credentials, many would have expected him to use the same analytical approach to address the sand mining issue when it popped up but he missed their expectation by miles to say the least, failing to take the bull by its horns, and instead using an all too familiar political approach - "will look into it".

The day Kapar Member of Parliament S. Manikavasagam brought up allegations of corrupt practices in the sand mining process; it was destined for doom due to Khalid's lack of wizardry in handling such situations said a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) grassroots leader.

By his own admission, Khalid had said, the BN government would dearly love to see him fail, since he is regarded a major opposition leader at the Federal level.

BN also knows that if he fails, Selangor, providing a huge chunk of the country's growth and revenues and probably the financial muscle to Pakatan Rakyat, would be weakened.

A PKR leader said despite being a former corporate figure, Khalid had failed to anticipate the warning signs of a bad investment.

"If only he had seen what was coming, he will not have to ward off blow after blow aimed at him from within and from his perpetrators, in this case, BN," said the leader.

"Now, with sand spilling everywhere, the Selangor state government's path towards development seems to be on a slippery path with quick-sand appearing at every turn that Khalid & Co seem to take" he said.

However, a DAP leader who did not want to be named, feels the sand mining issue was basically about who was now making money and who had lost out on making money.

"This is all about jealousy. Simply put, the Malays in BN were making money in the past, now they feel the Pakatan Rakyat Malays are making money. That's all to the matter because sand mining has been going on for about 30 years now.

"We (Pakatan Rakyat) just took over Selangor for about two years while such activities had been rampant under the BN rule. Just that it was not under a structured and more controlled approach," he said.

He added that sand was being dug up in almost every state in the country, but why the focus on Selangor, he asked.

There are more pertinent issues that the government should be concerned, like illegal logging, non-sanctioned clearing of forest for development, which both contribute to climate change and global warming that has become a concern throughout the world.

"Then, there is the issue of corruption, increase in drug trafficking, increase in drug addicts, snatch thefts, robberies, rape, abandoned babies, moral decay among youths, gangsterism in schools, criminal breach of trust, illegal immigrants, mismanagement in government linked companies and the list seems endless," he said.

The federal government must look at such issues rather than using up their energy and resources to run down the Selangor and Penang state governments where the opposition hopes to do something that the ruling party had failed to do over the years.