PETALING JAYA: DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook is in a bind over former MP Tony Pua, who is being investigated for sedition, a former Umno leader said.
Khairy Jamaluddin said Loke is unable to take disciplinary action against Pua over comments he made about the Federal Territories Pardons Board’s decision last week to reduce Najib Razak’s jail term.
On Friday, the board announced that the prison sentence handed down by the courts in Najib’s SRC International case had been reduced from 12 years to six. The former prime minister’s fine was also lowered from RM210 million to RM50 million.
“Can someone send me to jail for one year and in exchange pay me RM50 million? Pretty please,” Pua wrote on Facebook following the announcement. This was followed by a separate post in which he said: “I beg your pardon”.
Khairy said Loke may be concerned that any action by DAP against Pua would upset the party’s supporters as Pua is considered a “warrior” and is credited with bringing the 1MDB scandal to light.
“Pua was doing all the work, so we (Loke) cannot simply say he was being cynical in his comments,” Khairy said in the latest episode of the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast.
In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, Loke said Pua “chose sarcasm” when commenting on the matter.
Following Pua’s comments, Umno demanded that DAP take action against Pua, but Loke later said no action would be taken.
“Loke is in a tight spot. He can’t take action against Tony as it would ‘trigger’ DAP supporters. I’m not trying to defend (Loke) but I understand that he is in a tough situation.”
Khairy later said Perikatan Nasional was “not so smart” as the opposition coalition has yet to come up with its own narrative or comment on the issue.
“But then again, maybe they are smart. Some people tell me that PN is giving the unity government enough rope to hang itself.” - FMT
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