Mar 24, 08 6:17pm
PKR Youth claimed today that up to 16 Barisan Nasional parliamentarians are ready to hop over to the opposition coalition.
"We have up to 15 to 16 MPs from BN, including Umno MPs, who want to join PKR," party's Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohamad Akin said at a press conference today.
Shamsul denied that PKR was offering money to buy over the parliamentarians.
Far from encouraging them to defect, he said that the MPs had voluntarily held talks with PKR to discuss crossing over.
"They have come and met (PKR de facto leader) Anwar Ibrahim because they have lost faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. They are not crossing over for monetary gains," he said.
"If they want to come over, we will accept them but we are against buying them over."
He nevertheless urged BN elected representatives to join the opposition parties to become part of the ‘new hope’ engulfing the country.
Meanwhile, Youth deputy chief Khairul Annuar Ahmad Zainuddin said ‘hopping’ out of BN should not be seen as betrayal of either the ruling coalition or voters.
Rather, the move will help them fulfill the hopes of the people who have long sought change and to improve their lives, he said.
“We want to relay this message to any BN member of parliament (or state assemblyperson) harbouring hope (for change) and wishing to participate in this new hope for Malaysia: 'Don't worry. Be steely in your resolve’.
“What you are doing is giving hope to the people to leave the old regime and to build a new order.”
Khairul was responding to speculation that PKR has been courting BN elected representatives, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, in a bid to gain control of the federal government.
In the 12th general election concluded on March 8, the opposition parties - PKR, DAP and PAS - won 82 seats in Parliament, while BN captured 140.
The opposition coalition needs 30 MPs to defect before it can claim the right to form government.
Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has since describe PKR’s bid to get BN MPs to cross over as a form of bribery.
Denying the accusation today, Shamsul said the party was approached by BN elected representatives to discuss possible defection.
“This (bribery allegation) is only an attempt to divert the people’s attention from the weaknesses and rifts within Umno,” he said.
“The issue of (PKR) buying (BN MPs) was raised by Umno. (Otherwise) it doesn’t arise. They came to meet and discuss with us,” he said.
Shamsul confirmed that most of the MPs planning to hop over are from Sabah and Sarawak.
He also said it is ‘telling’ that Umno could not come up with anyone better than Tengku Adnan to cast such aspersions, given the former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department is implicated in alleged fixing of judicial appointments. (Tengku Adnan has denied this.)
Why the potential cross-overs
PKR sources have acknowledged that discussions with the BN elected representatives have included the issue of ministerial or state government positions to be offered in the event PKR takes over the federal government.
When asked whether offers of government positions amount to ‘bribery’, Shamsul said, “They (the BN MPs) contacted Keadilan leadership... primarily because they have lost hope in the BN leadership... and in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” he said.
On why these individuals did not join PKR before the general election if they believe so much in Anwar and the reform agenda, Shamsul said they probably did not expect the opposition parties to gain control over four states and 82 parliamentary seats.
“I think their perception was that BN would win a tremendous victory,” he said, adding that the opposition’s results made them consider joining PKR more seriously.
Khairul said the MPs who choose to remain in BN are the ones betraying the mandate of the people.
Speaking of the low socio-economic standards in which many people have languished despite 50 years of BN rule, Khairul said the people have shown they want change when they voted for opposition parties.
“Are we going to reject the signal from the people who have given us the mandate?” he asked.
Claiming that party-hopping is part and parcel of the democratic process, Khairul said he is confident that PKR elected representatives will not join BN.
On the crisis in Terengganu following the Regency Advisory Council’s appointment of BN’s Kikal state assemblyperson Ahmad Said as menteri besar, Shamsul urged BN to respect the institution of the constitutional monarchy.
“The ones who chose the leaders are the people. The elections were organised, the elected representatives were chosen, and the sultan has the choice of selecting the head (of the state government). That is provided for in the state constitution. You have to respect that,” he said.
All 22 BN state assemblypersons have backed the previous MB, Idris Jusoh.
Abdullah, who is Umno president, has said the appointment as "unconstitutional".
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
PM wades into royal tussle
Mar 24, 08 11:35am
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has declared unconstitutional the appointment of Ahmad Said as the new Terengganu menteri besar, in a rare showdown with the nation's royal rulers, reports said today.
Terengganu is the only state that has yet to install a government chief, two weeks after elections in which Abdullah's ruling coalition suffered its worst ever results.
The coalition led by Umno retained control of Terengganu but Abdullah's choice for menteri besar, incumbent Idris Jusoh, was overlooked by the state palace which appointed another Umno figure.
"Idris Jusoh commands majority support (among the elected state representatives). This has not changed," Abdullah said according to the official Bernama news agency.
"As such, the appointment of any other person to the post is unconstitutional," he said.
Low point for Umno
Malaysia's elections, which delivered four more states and a third of parliamentary seats to the opposition, triggered tussles with royals in other states but appointees there had the support of the majority of lawmakers.
The New Straits Times said in an editorial that an unhappy relationship between the menteri besar and royal rulers could result in "trouble and acrimony".
Analysts say the clash between the Terengganu palace and Abdullah's government is symptomatic of the prime minister's weakened position after the unprecedented election losses.
"Abdullah was already weak to begin with and the crisis in Terengganu just shows how much more worse off his position is," said Tricia Yeo from the Centre for Public Policy Studies.
"It shows the rampant infighting within the party that is now preventing the government from getting down to rule the country," she added. "It is definitely a low point for Umno."
Under Malaysia's rotating monarchy, the Sultan of Terengganu is at present the Malaysian king and has delegated his powers to his son who is only eight years old and so co-reigns with a three-member Regency Advisory Council.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has declared unconstitutional the appointment of Ahmad Said as the new Terengganu menteri besar, in a rare showdown with the nation's royal rulers, reports said today.
Terengganu is the only state that has yet to install a government chief, two weeks after elections in which Abdullah's ruling coalition suffered its worst ever results.
The coalition led by Umno retained control of Terengganu but Abdullah's choice for menteri besar, incumbent Idris Jusoh, was overlooked by the state palace which appointed another Umno figure.
"Idris Jusoh commands majority support (among the elected state representatives). This has not changed," Abdullah said according to the official Bernama news agency.
"As such, the appointment of any other person to the post is unconstitutional," he said.
Low point for Umno
Malaysia's elections, which delivered four more states and a third of parliamentary seats to the opposition, triggered tussles with royals in other states but appointees there had the support of the majority of lawmakers.
The New Straits Times said in an editorial that an unhappy relationship between the menteri besar and royal rulers could result in "trouble and acrimony".
Analysts say the clash between the Terengganu palace and Abdullah's government is symptomatic of the prime minister's weakened position after the unprecedented election losses.
"Abdullah was already weak to begin with and the crisis in Terengganu just shows how much more worse off his position is," said Tricia Yeo from the Centre for Public Policy Studies.
"It shows the rampant infighting within the party that is now preventing the government from getting down to rule the country," she added. "It is definitely a low point for Umno."
Under Malaysia's rotating monarchy, the Sultan of Terengganu is at present the Malaysian king and has delegated his powers to his son who is only eight years old and so co-reigns with a three-member Regency Advisory Council.
Ku Li slams PM for 'stunning ineptness'
Mar 24, 08 7:38pm
Veteran Umno politican Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today fired his latest salvo against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his “stunning ineptness” in the appointment of the Terengganu mentri besar.
“Abdullah’s statement yesterday that ‘the appointment of anyone but Idris Jusoh as Terengganu menteri besar is unconstitutional’ is wrong,” said Razaleigh in a hard-hitting press release late this afternoon.
“As in the recent crisis in Perlis, the prime minister's actions suggest stunning ineptness in managing fundamental relationships and straightforward functions of government.”
According to Razaleigh, the situation in Terengganu is a “crisis of government, not of the constitution”.
“The sultan acted within his powers in appointing the person who, in his judgment, is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the State Assembly.
“Ahmad Said's appointment is effective and he is now mentri besar of Terengganu. It is up to the properly convened State Assembly to test him with a vote of confidence in due course,” said Razaleigh, referring to Terengganu sultan’s choice.
He said that “petitions, threats, coercion and declarations of support” for the prime minister and his candidate, Idris - who was mentri besar in the previous state government - had no bearing on the legality of the sultan’s appointment.
“Perhaps we have forgotten what it is like to conduct ourselves with good manners and due respect for the constitution and the sovereignty of the ruler,” lamented Razaleigh, who himself is a Kelantan prince.
Last week, Razaleigh, who was former party vice-president, had offered himself as a candidate to challenge Abdullah in the upcoming Umno polls, due to be held in August.
He has also called for the entire ruling Barisan Nasional to step down to take responsibility for its worst electoral setback in history.
Umno’s leadership in jeopardy
Razaleigh also expressed concerned that the crisis in Terengganu would affect Umno’s control of the oil-rich state.
“This storm in Terengganu is just the latest in a series of crises brought on by an apparent failure to understand how state powers work relative to federal ones.
“This is alarming because the Barisan government now has five opposition-controlled states to contend with out of the nine in Peninsular Malaysia. The mishandling of chief ministerial appointments in Perlis, and now in Terengganu, mean that our leadership in two other states is now in jeopardy.”
In the wake of March 8 general elections, Razaleigh - who is Kelantan’s Gua Musang Umno division chief - has sent a letter to all party leaders urging them to convene an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the electoral debacle.
However, he has received lukewarm support for the idea.
In a latest development, MB-designate Ahmad said that he had full backing from the sultan and will start work tomorrow.
Veteran Umno politican Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today fired his latest salvo against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his “stunning ineptness” in the appointment of the Terengganu mentri besar.
“Abdullah’s statement yesterday that ‘the appointment of anyone but Idris Jusoh as Terengganu menteri besar is unconstitutional’ is wrong,” said Razaleigh in a hard-hitting press release late this afternoon.
“As in the recent crisis in Perlis, the prime minister's actions suggest stunning ineptness in managing fundamental relationships and straightforward functions of government.”
According to Razaleigh, the situation in Terengganu is a “crisis of government, not of the constitution”.
“The sultan acted within his powers in appointing the person who, in his judgment, is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the State Assembly.
“Ahmad Said's appointment is effective and he is now mentri besar of Terengganu. It is up to the properly convened State Assembly to test him with a vote of confidence in due course,” said Razaleigh, referring to Terengganu sultan’s choice.
He said that “petitions, threats, coercion and declarations of support” for the prime minister and his candidate, Idris - who was mentri besar in the previous state government - had no bearing on the legality of the sultan’s appointment.
“Perhaps we have forgotten what it is like to conduct ourselves with good manners and due respect for the constitution and the sovereignty of the ruler,” lamented Razaleigh, who himself is a Kelantan prince.
Last week, Razaleigh, who was former party vice-president, had offered himself as a candidate to challenge Abdullah in the upcoming Umno polls, due to be held in August.
He has also called for the entire ruling Barisan Nasional to step down to take responsibility for its worst electoral setback in history.
Umno’s leadership in jeopardy
Razaleigh also expressed concerned that the crisis in Terengganu would affect Umno’s control of the oil-rich state.
“This storm in Terengganu is just the latest in a series of crises brought on by an apparent failure to understand how state powers work relative to federal ones.
“This is alarming because the Barisan government now has five opposition-controlled states to contend with out of the nine in Peninsular Malaysia. The mishandling of chief ministerial appointments in Perlis, and now in Terengganu, mean that our leadership in two other states is now in jeopardy.”
In the wake of March 8 general elections, Razaleigh - who is Kelantan’s Gua Musang Umno division chief - has sent a letter to all party leaders urging them to convene an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the electoral debacle.
However, he has received lukewarm support for the idea.
In a latest development, MB-designate Ahmad said that he had full backing from the sultan and will start work tomorrow.
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