Pakatan sets new deadline as the House stays closed

Pakatan sets new deadline as the House stays closed
23 Sept, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Those expec­ting the Pakatan Rakyat to be in charge of the government today will be disappointed as the Dewan Rakyat will remain closed and there will be no emergency session for the tabling of a no-confidence motion against the Barisan Nasional government as demanded by the opposition coalition.

In the meantime, the deadline for the supposed Pakatan takeover has been pushed to “before Hari Raya.”

PKR information chief Tian Chua said in Ipoh that Pakatan hoped to resolve some technical issues before Oct 1.

“We don’t want to give up our stability as the price for the transition,” he told reporters after atten­ding a PKR people’s forum on Sunday night.

“I am very confident. We hope the change of government will happen before Hari Raya.”

Earlier during his speech, he said people had questioned why Pakatan chose Sept 16 when PKR was not ready for the takeover.

“We chose the date because it was Malaysia Day. There was a time when people were afraid (to speak up) but only after the March 8 general election did we realise the people had power,” he said.

For Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, it would be another “usual” day attending to his business matters at his office here.

“If Anwar really has the numbers, he will go straight to the King. Why pass a no-confidence motion and make use of Parliament?

“This House is to discuss the problems of the rakyat and the country, not to be made used of for your own agenda,” Tiong told The Star.

Last week, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he had enough Barisan MPs willing to defect to Pakatan and that the only way for Pakatan to form the government was via an emergency session of Parliament to be convened by today.

Before that, he had said Pakatan would form the government on Sept 16.

By LOONG MENG YEE and CHRISTINA KOH, The Star