COMMENT The resignation of PKR central leadership council member Latheefa Koya from the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council calls attention at an inopportune moment to Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's attitude towards internal dissent, which could charitably be described as maladroit.

Latheefa, a lawyer with a long track record of human rights advocacy - initially with Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and, latterly, with Parti Keadilan Malaysia, the entity PRM merged with in 2002 - was appointed a councillor in 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat took over Selangor following its victory in the general election that year.

Latheefa had sent an email to Khalid sharply criticising the way a demonstration by a band of urban pioneers (peneroka bandar) at the Selangor State Secretariat (SUK) office in Shah Alam on June 20 was handled...