I refer to the Malaysiakini report Barricade row: Pakatan state gov’t 'weak’ .

Ever since the beginning when Pakatan Rakyat under Khalid Ibrahim took over the reins of the Selangor government, there was already signs of a weak government.

Events until now have not dispelled those lingering doubts. Immediately after taking control of the government, there was strong compelling evidence that the previous administration was shredding important state documents which could have incriminated their administration and yet Khalid chose to ignore them with a nonchalant attitude as if it was of little importance.

That single act of omission has virtually deprived the rakyat of the opportunity to punish those perpetrators of their crime for which they were so eager to conceal and destroy.

When Penang's chief minister announced their intention to abolish the NEP and replace it with one that is more equitable there was a deafening silence from the Selangor state government.

Either Khalid didn’t hear the announcement or he had totally forgotten about the Pakatan's manifesto.

Khalid's reluctance to prosecute those Umno leaders responsible for shredding those state documents is understandable. After all, he was once a blue-eyed boy of Umno who so happened to lose their favour sometime ago.

Fortune has been kind to him and now that he is in the driver's seat, he is slowly remembering his old Umno roots.

As long as Selangor continues to be under the helm of Khalid, there will be little change from its previous Umno predeccessor. After all both Khalid and Mohd Khir Toyo came from the same Umno origin.

In the case of the Bandar Makhota Cheras barricade, the whole matter could have been expeditiously resolved if there was strong leadership.

Land in the state comes under state jurisdiction and if the incumbent government cannot even settle what is within their purview then Pakatan Rakyat is heading for a very short term.

Five years in politics is a very short time. If the Pakatan cannot reform the state governments like it promised, then maybe the rakyat will have to look for an alternative government.