More to come, says Gerakan

(NST) – Pakatan Rakyat, especially Parti Keadilan Rakyat, will force by-elections every two to three months. This is the prediction of Gerakan deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn.

He said the opposition coalition would do so to cover up its internal problems.

"Barisan Nasional should avoid being drawn into Pak-atan's political ploy," he said, in support of BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak's suggestion that the coalition skipped the Penanti by-election.

"Since the last general election, we have seen Pakatan racked by in-fighting. The parties are using by-elections to unite themselves," he said here yesterday.

Chang said Pakatan had resorted to the same ploy in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary and Bukit Selambau state by-elections.

Mohammad Fairus Khair-uddin, 34, who resigned as Penang deputy chief minister, quit as Penanti state assemblyman last Thursday.

"I believe that even after Penanti, there'll be two or three more by-elections caused by resignations from PR representatives. They are going to cause by-elections every two to three months. They simply want to divert the people's attention to politics and conceal their in-fightings."

Chang said BN must capitalise on the resignation issue by telling the people that this was an irresponsible action that could jeopardise the government's efforts to revive the national economy.

Chang, who is also Gerakan legal bureau head, said BN could take a leaf from the past when the ruling coalition did not contest the Menglembu parliamentary by-election in 1975. The seat fell vacant after DAP's Fan Yew Teng was disqualified as an MP.

"Even at that time, BN under the leadership of Tun Abdul Razak decided not to contest the by-election.

"Similarly, we now need to focus our energy on how to revive our economy and the financial sector," he said.