Regime change crisis in Kedah

ARCHIVES 2009

By MT Webmaster On Aug 25, 2009

PKR selected its candidates in a rush just to face the general elections last year, resulting in low quality of its many elected representatives. This has caused a price the party has to pay today and it may as well set off more acute contradictions.

By LIM SUE GOAN/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily

Politicians used to automatically stop all political disputes during the holy month of Ramadan in the past. This is a fine tradition of Malaysian politics. However, it is different this year because of the Permatang Pasir by-election. The resignation of Lunas state assemblyman Mohd Radzhi Salleh from PKR will sure lead to a political tension.

Radzhi’s change to support the BN government has proved that the rumours about party-hopping for Pakatan’s state assemblymen and unstable regime in Kedah are not merely rumours. And Radzhi also happened to announce that he has become an independent member of the Kedah legislative assembly after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak returned from abroad.

Radzhi’s resignation gave the people a déjà vu moment. Early this year, three Pakatan state assemblypersons quitted from the party to become independent legislative assembly members that support BN as they were not satisfied with the party leaders. Eventually, it led to the collapse of the Pakatan Perak government. How coincident it is as among the three state assemblypersons that quitted the party, two of them were involved in corruption cases while Radzhi was also being accused to have overly made working claims. And three of them are state executive councillors.

"Even if a few members quit, the state government will not immediately collapse."

Coincidentally, Pakatan Selangor state executive councillors have also been accused of corruption. At the same time, there was a mysterious letter claiming the collusion of former Menteri Besar with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

However, Pakatan has learned a lesson from the Perak regime change. Other than beware of its members being recruited by its opponent, the party has as well made arrangements to prevent regime change. For example, Selangor state assembly has passed the motion through the Rights and Privileges Committee to suspend former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo and four other BN representatives for one year and six months each respectively. Even if a few members quit, the state government will not immediately collapse.

Meanwhile, Kedah State Assembly Speaker Datuk Dr Abdul Isa Ismail has sent a letter to the Kedah Election Commission (EC), claiming that Kota Siputeh state assemblyman Datuk Abu Hassan Sarif (BN) had lost his seat as he had failed to attend two state assembly meetings. Dr Isa requested that Abu Hassan’s seat to be vacated. However, the EC may again not allow for a by-election, just like it rejected the “resignation letters” of the three independent representatives in Perak.

All of these seem to be political acts and strategies. The public might applaud when Khir was suspended but they did not know that it was only a show with political motives behind it. Both the ruling and opposition parties are shouting anti-corruption slogans but only heaven knows whether they really mean it.

Based on the current situation, although it is facing an enormous pressure, the Selangor state is most unlikely to have regime change as BN has to rope in at least eight members to succeed. But Kedah is in jeopardy as BN needs only three seats to seize the state regime. Moreover, Pakatan Kedah is facing internal contradictions as much as Selangor.

The political game between the ruling and the opposition parties must follow reasonable and lawful rules. If the game intensifies money politics and buries political sentiment and moral, it will be a political sorrow and the country’s politics will as well retrogress.