SHAH ALAM (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim said the palace wants him to remain as the state's chief minister after he assured the Sultan that he commanded the majority in the state assembly.

In a highly anticipated and packed press conference at the state secretariat building on Monday, Tan Sri Khalid said that this was decided in an audience he had with Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah on Monday morning.

Mr Khalid has been under pressure to quit his position as the Mentri Besar after he was sacked by the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) on Saturday. The party has wanted to replace him with party chairman Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for months, citing inept governance by Mr Khalid which it says resulted in a spate of problems including water shortage.

"I informed His Royal Highness Tuanku that I was sacked by the PKR disciplinary council on Aug 9. Tuanku asked me if I still had the confidence of a majority of the state legislative assembly members," Mr Khalid said at Monday's press conference.

Mr Khalid said he had informed Sultan Sharafuddin that in spite of his sacking, he still commanded the confidence of a majority of the state legislative assembly members.

"So I will remain mentri besar until further developments," he said.

"Sultan was satisfied with my explanation and has given me the consent to continue my position as Mentri Besar. I still have the support of the state assembly members," said Mr Khalid.

"Unless there are new developments, I'm still Selangor's Mentri Besar and I will continue to serve the people," he added.

"I won't be leaving. If the (state's executive council) members don't agree with me, they can leave," said Mr Khalid.

A state government can function with a minimum four and maximum 10 executive councillors, according to the state laws.

Both PKR and its other coalition partner, Democratic Action Party have stated that their assemblymen would stand united in pushing for Mr Khalid's ouster while PAS appears divided on the issue.