New Amanah comes off as greedy, says analyst

(Free Malaysia Today) – Parti Amanah Negara, being recently-formed, is unqualified to demand seats on local councils, according to political analyst Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin.

He contends that it is too early to allocate eight spots in Selangor local councils as demanded by the party, formed in September last year by former PAS members of the progressive faction.

Three days ago, eight local council seats, in Sepang, Kuala Langat, Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor, were allocated to Amanah. The appointments are for a two-year term beginning January 15.

Shamsul, who is deputy chairman of the National Council of Professors, said Amanah needed to win seats in an election before making demands for local council seats.

“They have showed that they are greedy for posts instead of focussing on strengthening the party. If they win in an election, they would demand to be part of the state government,” Shamsul told FMT.

However, he said Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamad Azmin Ali had no choice but to accede to Amanah’s demands.

He said that Amanah would not have dared demand for council seats if the menteri besar’s post was held by a PAS politician. PAS had said it would not cooperate with Amanah.