DAP Youth scoffs at 'wait for polls' call, reminds Zahid of Perak coup

DAP Youth has pointed out the irony in BN's call to the people to wait for the general election if they wanted to oust Najib Abdul Razak as prime minister even though he was the very person who had engineered the Perak coup in 2009.

DAP Youth chief Wong Kah Woh highlighted this in response to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who criticised the Citizens' Declaration, which called for Najib's ouster, stating that any change in leadership must go through the democratic process.

The Prime Minister's Department yesterday also criticised the signatories, comprising former government forces led by ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and opposition and civil society leaders, calling them "desperate", and insisting that any change should only be done through the polls.

"He (Zahid) should be reminded that Najib was the mastermind of the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009 which led to the elected state government being replaced.

"If Zahid wants to describe the Citizens' Declaration as an undemocratic and illegal attempt to change the government, then he should reflect upon Najib's track record and act against him for not respecting the Perak constitution in 2009," said Wong.

Furthermore, Wong pointed out that the Citizens' Declaration, signed by 58 leaders, specifically states that the ouster of Najib should be done through legal and democratic means.

In 2009, Najib, who was Perak Umno chief, engineered the defection of three state assemblypersons from the Pakatan Rakyat-led government, leading to its collapse and paving the way for BN to come into power.

"Najib, who was then deputy prime minister, made use of the three Pakatan state assemblypersons who defected, to announce the setting up of a new government at a press conference without going through a vote of confidence in the state legislative assembly, in accordance with the Perak constitution," said Wong.

He said the coup not only brought down the Perak government but left a lasting impact on the concept of separation of powers in the country.

Mahathir, who has accused Najib of corruption, is spear-heading a movement to oust him.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has cleared the prime minister of any criminal wrongdoing in regard to the RM2.6 billion donation as well as the RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.

However, the MACC is appealing Apandi's decision not to prosecute. --Mkini