Some leaders in Pakatan Rakyat were prepared to accept Umno's Gua Musang MP Tengku Razeleigh, who is widely known as Ku Li, as prime minister, PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali, has revealed.
This was agreed upon on the condition that Ku Li could convince at least 15 to 20 MPs to crossover in Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's Sept 16, 2008, attempt to topple the BN government, the veteran politician says in Memoir Perjuangan Politik (Reminiscences of a Political Activist).
This was essential as most of the MPs who had agreed to crossover were non-Muslim bumiputeras and Pakatan wanted Umno defectors to maintain a balance, to ensure that its Malay Muslim support does not erode, Syed Husin says in his book, which was released last night.
Maintaining that the Sept 16 promise was real, he says that after Umno found out about the plan, it whisked most of the Umno MPs to Taiwan, and later some to Macau and New York, to avert any crossover.
"(Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) then announced allocations of about RM3 billion for development projects in Sabah and Sarawak.
"This obviously provided contract opportunities to crony companies and contractors linked to MPs who are also Umno and BN leaders in the two states," he writes.
The book, described by PKR vice-president Tian Chua as a honest and plain description of Syed Husin's political experiences, without regret or condemnation, was launched at a high powered audience of some 500 people in Shah Alam.
[More to follow]
This was agreed upon on the condition that Ku Li could convince at least 15 to 20 MPs to crossover in Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's Sept 16, 2008, attempt to topple the BN government, the veteran politician says in Memoir Perjuangan Politik (Reminiscences of a Political Activist).
This was essential as most of the MPs who had agreed to crossover were non-Muslim bumiputeras and Pakatan wanted Umno defectors to maintain a balance, to ensure that its Malay Muslim support does not erode, Syed Husin says in his book, which was released last night.Maintaining that the Sept 16 promise was real, he says that after Umno found out about the plan, it whisked most of the Umno MPs to Taiwan, and later some to Macau and New York, to avert any crossover.
"(Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) then announced allocations of about RM3 billion for development projects in Sabah and Sarawak.
"This obviously provided contract opportunities to crony companies and contractors linked to MPs who are also Umno and BN leaders in the two states," he writes.
The book, described by PKR vice-president Tian Chua as a honest and plain description of Syed Husin's political experiences, without regret or condemnation, was launched at a high powered audience of some 500 people in Shah Alam.
[More to follow]
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