DAP rep: As principled party we should not work with Umno in coalition govt

 

DAP's Pasir Bedamar assemblyperson Terence Naidu has come out strongly against the idea of his party working alongside Umno in a coalition government.

Naidu (above) was responding to grassroots unhappiness after Perak DAP leader Nga Kor Ming revealed that the party was willing to forge an alliance with Umno to form a stable and multiracial state government.

The lawmaker said Pakatan Harapan parties should not be allowed to be used as pawns in the power struggle between Perikatan National (PN) members like Umno and Bersatu.

"Harapan should not cooperate with Umno in this Perak coalition government because the replacement of the menteri besar and state exco is just a political game of the Umno leadership to change the menteri besar.

"The people will punish Harapan in the next general election for conspiring in this game.

"Looking at the current political developments in Perak and the political crisis of 2009 (when the elected Pakatan Rakyat government was toppled through defections), behind all these crises is Umno and its top leaders," Naidu said in a statement today.

He added that in the run-up to voting on Budget 2021, Umno also proved untrustworthy after initially indicating it was going to vote against the budget.

"We must also remember that a legitimate Harapan government elected by the people through the 14th general election was ended through betrayal when some members defected and formed a new government with the help of Umno."

Since being elected in the 2018 polls, Harapan has exposed many cases of corruption and abuse of power involving the former prime minister and ministers who are now facing charges in court, Naidu said, adding that many of them are top Umno leaders.

"Now we see that the PN government, which often changes policies to the detriment of the people, is an illegitimate government.

"It is only a 'marriage of convenience' between greedy individuals and some Umno leaders who want to free themselves from corruption charges.

"Even from the perception of the people, abuse of power and corruption are ingrained in Umno. Not all Umno members are like that but unfortunately, there are still top Umno leaders who are facing charges and have been convicted, yet still have influence and power in the party," he added.

DAP's Malim Nawar assemblyperson Leong Cheok Keng (above) also decried Nga's willingness to work with Umno, saying the latter may ultimately find Umno giving the cold shoulder to DAP.

Leong said along with Pokok Assam representative Leow Thye Yih and Naidu, he only received instructions from the party to vote against the confidence motion on then Perak menteri besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu in the state assembly at 9.30am on the day of the vote. 

Prior to that, they had been totally in the dark on the matter.

“On that day, (DAP's) Sungkai assemblyperson A Sivanesan sent a message and asked us to vote against the motion.

"We initially planned to abstain, but when I asked (DAP secretary-general) Lim Guan Eng, he asked us to follow (the message). So we followed the party central leadership order to vote against the motion,” he said. 

Leong added that he could not keep silent anymore on the matter and he needed to express the views of supporters who were against the cooperation between the two parties.

Leow (below) earlier issued a statement saying that under no circumstances would he consider backing an Umno candidate for Perak menteri besar.

In September last year, Leow and Leong announced their resignation from the Perak DAP committee as a result of dissatisfaction with Nga over the status of Perak executive councillor Paul Yong, who was facing rape charges.

Leong and Leow resigned as deputy treasurer and assistant secretary of Perak DAP respectively, in protest after Nga had said that appropriate action would be taken against the DAP state lawmaker, depending on the circumstances.

Yong eventually quit DAP and defected to support Faizal's government.

DAP is the second-largest party in the 59-seat Perak state assembly with 16 seats, while Umno has 25 assemblypersons.

The political turmoil in Perak was sparked after Faizal lost a confidence vote during the state assembly sitting on Friday, forcing him to resign from the top state post.

The motion was mooted by Umno.

Subsequently, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had remarked that the party was talking to all parties about forming a new coalition state government.

PKR and Amanah were open to the idea but imposed a condition that the participation must be made en bloc with DAP.

It's still unclear whether the cooperation will materialise as Umno, in its supreme council meeting yesterday, reiterated its wish to uphold cooperation with PAS and Bersatu.

Naidu said as a principled party, DAP should not budge from its stand to not cooperate with any unprincipled leaders.

"DAP has long fought for the principle of justice for the people and the foundation of a just and equitable democracy regardless of race. Fighting corruption and abuse of power is one of our stances that will not be mortgaged.

"If 'working together' means supporting a budget presentation that benefits the people when the symptoms of Covid-19 spread, as a responsible elected representative, I will support such a motion for the progress of Perak.

"But it is not the kind of blind cooperation that will support any abuse of power and corruption," he stressed. - Mkini