24 April, 2008
There are 60 Sabah State Assemblymen, 32 of them from Umno, and 25 Parliamentarians, 14 of them from Umno. Therefore Umno Sabah calls the shots. But if USNO replaces Umno Sabah, then even those from PBS and the other Barisan Nasional component members will leave and join the new party.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who arrived here yesterday, denied that his visit was aimed at wooing Sabah Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat.
The Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader said the question should not arise as those planning to cross over had made up their minds and were waiting for the right time.
"The purpose of my visit is to brief PKR members and supporters on the promises made in our election manifesto, such as the 20 per cent oil royalty pledge for Sabah.
"We are not here to make any sort of deal (with BN MPs)," he said at a hotel here.
He also explained that the press conference was called "to allay the concerns of some and to refute the unfounded allegation of others that we are here for a very unethical and immoral purpose to woo support from BN MPs".
When asked when would be the appropriate time for the alleged crossovers to take place, Anwar said the MPs had yet to be sworn in and that parliament would only begin its session on Monday.
"Why should we rush? We know they will be joining us. It is only a matter of time. If not next month, maybe the following month, July or before the Merdeka Day or Malaysia Day (in September)," he said. - NEW STRAITS TIMES
Anwar Claims Some Sabah BN MPs Have Decided To Defect
KOTA KINABALU -- Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today claimed that some Barisan Nasional (BN) Members of Parliament in Sabah have already decided to join `Pakatan Rakyat' and are only waiting for the right time to do so.
"What is holding them is the timing. These MPs are not even sworn in Parliament (yet). We are not in a rush," he told reporters here.
He claimed that if they did not join next month, it could be in the following month, July or even on Merdeka Day (Aug 31).
"But I think we should not exceed beyond that," he said. - BERNAMA
SHABERY: We’re not worried about rumours over Barisan MPs crossing over
Barisan Nasional (BN) is not worried over talk of its members of parliament in Sabah defecting to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) as claimed by the party’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Instead, it was Pakatan Rakyat that should be worried about their MPs crossing over to BN as the people are very angry with the RM100 million hi-tech pig farm project in Selangor, Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said today.
“I think it is Anwar who should be worried. Perhaps, there may be Pakatan Rakyat component parties that will opt to join BN. People are very angry with what is happening in Selangor now.
“He should realise that the Malays are very angry. Not that I want to play racial sentiments here, it is not the question of pig rearing which is a racial issue, but is that the priority of the PKR-led Pakatan Rakyat state government in Selangor,” he told reporters at Parliament House after checking on the preparations for the live telecast of the Dewan Rakyat proceedings next week.
Ahmad Shabery said Umno’s position in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat was still strong, with more than 70 seats in hand, as compared to PKR’s 31.
Anwar claimed yesterday that some BN MPs in Sabah have already decided to join Pakatan Rakyat and were only waiting for the right time to cross over.
“What is holding them is the timing. These MPs are not even sworn in Parliament yet. We are not in a rush,” he had told reporters in Kota Kinabalu. - BERNAMA
*************************************************
Those were today’s news reports by Bernama and the New Straits Times.
No, Anwar Ibrahim is not in Sabah to persuade the Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat. He is in Sabah only to explain to Pakatan Rakyat members the increase of the oil royalty from 5% to 20%.
No, Anwar Ibrahim is not in Sabah to make any deals with Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament. "Why should we rush? We know they will be joining us. It is only a matter of time. If not next month, maybe the following month, July or before the Merdeka Day (August) or Malaysia Day (September)."
Anwar also explained that he is in Sabah "to allay the concerns of some and to refute the unfounded allegation of others that we are here for a very unethical and immoral purpose to woo support from BN MPs". However, explained Anwar, some Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament in Sabah have already decided to join Pakatan Rakyat and they are only waiting for the right time to do so.
Phew, what a load of political doublespeak. Anwar is so confusing I hope he does not end up confusing himself.
But Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the country bumpkin from the Terengganu kampong turned Information Minister, is not worried. Barisan Nasional is not worried over talk of its Members of Parliament in Sabah defecting to Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Instead, it is Pakatan Rakyat that should be worried about their MPs crossing over to BN as the people are very angry with the RM100 million hi-tech pig farm project in Selangor.
“He should realise that the Malays are very angry. Not that I want to play racial sentiments here, it is not the question of pig rearing which is a racial issue, but is that the priority of the PKR-led Pakatan Rakyat state government in Selangor,” said Shabery.
What Shabery failed to mention is that it was Umno that approved the pig-rearing project. He also failed to mention that one full planeload of Umno people flew to Germany to visit a pig farm at the cost of millions of the rakyat’s money.
Anyway, is Anwar in Sabah to negotiate the cross-over of Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament or not -- and are they crossing over? Actually, they are not crossing over to Parti Keadilian Rakyat -- or DAP or PAS. They do not wish to join any of the semenanjung political parties, which, to Sabahans, are a symbol of colonialism. They want they own home-based party, a Sabah party run by Sabahans for Sabahans.
If Anwar tries to persuade them to leave Barisan Nasional and cross over into one of the three Pakatan Rakyat parties he will fail miserably. Instead, he will have to tell them, once Pakatan Rakyat forms the federal government, they will approve the re-registration of USNO. Yes, Sabahans are sentimental about USNO and they want to revive the party that was instrumental in gaining Merdeka for Sabah in September 1963.
Pakatan Rakyat is just another Barisan Nasional to Sabahans. And they have not forgotten or forgiven Anwar for bringing Umno into Sabah, which resulted in what Sabahans view as the ‘re-colonisation’ of the state. Anwar will have to redeem himself by proposing that Sabahans revive the now defunct USNO and that when he leads the federal government he will ensure that the registration of the revived party will be approved.
Yes, the 20% oil royalty is certainly an attraction. But the 20-point Agreement is another needling issue. Anwar has to assure Sabahans that the federal government will respect and honour this Agreement. And to guarantee that this will be achieved, ‘federal’ political parties must stay out of Sabah and instead a local party will replace Umno. And that party must be USNO.
The solution is simple and can be easily agreed upon. Revive USNO, legalise it by approving its registration, and throw in the 20-point Agreement and the 20% oil royalty. There are 60 Sabah State Assemblymen, 32 of them from Umno, and 25 Parliamentarians, 14 of them from Umno. Therefore Umno Sabah calls the shots. But if USNO replaces Umno Sabah, then even those from PBS and the other Barisan Nasional component members will leave and join the new party. USNO will then join Pakatan Rakyat as the fourth member -- bringing the Sabah State Government and 15-18 Members of Parliament with them. Then Pakatan Rakyat will not only have one more state under their control but it will need just another dozen or so Parliament seats to form the new federal government. And there are 30 Parliament seats in Sarawak and Sarawakians also want 20% oil royalty and the spirit of the 20-point Agreement restored.
Phew, it’s so simple. If Anwar can’t pull this off then maybe he should step aside and allow someone else to take over the reins of Pakatan Rakyat.
No comments:
Post a Comment