DAP sets up own shadow cabinet, cites inability to work with Hadi

By MT Webmaster On May 19, 2015

(The Star) – DAP has set up its own shadow cabinet, citing an inability to work with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said he was not confident that a Pakatan Rakyat shadow cabinet was possible due to Hadi’s unwillingness to consult its partners on various matters.

“He does not consult with us, he does not even consult with his own PAS leaders. How can we cooperate on this?

“We should realise we have made the decision of not having links with Hadi, but we shall continue to engage with other PAS leaders,” he said at a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday.

Despite Opposition leader Datuk Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s pledge on Monday to renew the shadow cabinet proposal, Lim said such a thing would not be practical at the moment for Pakatan.

“The Pakatan Rakyat shadow cabinet is unwieldy because Hadi can veto and override any decision made based on consensus.

“Hadi did not consult us on many matters especially hudud and therefore, I believe such a model is hard to implement,” said the Bagan MP.

Lim, however, said the parties could still come together as a coalition because each party has its own shadow cabinet.

“Every party has their own spokesmen for their own portfolios. They can come together on common interests.

“Whether or not we will have a Pakatan shadow cabinet in the future, let’s wait until then,” he said.

DAP’s shadow cabinet consists of 34 lawmakers who have been appointed to take charge of 18 different ministerial portfolios.

Among the portfolios are Education, Science and Technology (Zairil Khir Johari-Bukit Bendera, Teo Nie Ching-Kulai), Home and Law (Gobind Singh Deo-Puchong, Ngeh Koo Ham-Berus, Thomas Su Keng Siong-Ipoh Timur and Ramkarpal Singh-Bukit Gelugor) and Finance and Economy (Tony Pua-Petaling Jaya Utara, Oscar Ling-Sibu and Wong Tien Fatt-Sandakan).

Lim noted that some MPs had more that one portfolio but that the party disallowed any person from being the spokesperson for more than one area.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw and Lim were the only ones not given specific portfolios.

When asked whether this was because Lim would serve as shadow prime minister, he said: “I am not the shadow prime minister. That one, you have to ask the Opposition leader.”