No boycott of Parliament sitting, say DAP and PAS

(ST) – DAP and PAS have snubbed PKR’s suggestion to boycott the opening of the 13th parliament sitting.

DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke said that the party had no plans to boycott parliament, while PAS deputy ulama chief Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed said that such a move would be like snubbing the rakyat who had elected the MPs.

They said this in response to PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s suggestion for the boycott to protest against the results of the 13th general election.

Anwar made the suggestion following calls by some non-government organisations to boycott the sitting that starts on June 24.

“Our position is the same as that of the one taken by (party adviser) Lim Kit Siang,” said Loke.

Lim was quoted in news portals as saying that DAP had no plans at the moment to boycott parliament.

Dr Mahfodz said that it was the duty of those who won the elections to attend parliament sessions.

“We shouldn’t snub parliament, as it is akin to snubbing the rakyat,” said Dr Mahfodz, who had contested and lost the Gambir state seat in Johor.

Dr Mahfodz, who is also Johor PAS commissioner, said that those who were not satisfied with the election results should file petitions in court.

Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) director Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ramon Navaratnam urged Anwar to rethink his plans to boycott parliament.

“It will be bad to boycott parliament, as elected representatives are obliged to represent the people.

“Even his (Anwar’s) party was elected by the people to the parliament, and they do not have the mandate from the people to boycott parliament,” he said.