Hypocritical for PH to cry foul in Kedah MB’s ouster

By admin-s Last updated May 13, 2020

In Sabah in the 1990s, who were the engineers of these moves? The fourth PM, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in power then, with the operation being led by his then close ally Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Abdullah Yunos (grassroots Bersatu member in Ipoh)

The fact that Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir is shown the door for the second time as Kedah MB should not be construed as an attempt to usurp democratic conventions. Based on the chatter on social media, the defection of two PKR lawmakers in Kedah is yet mischievously labelled as an attack on democracy to establish a backdoor government.

Crossing the floor is a universal practice even in matured democracies. Sometimes, they result in a change of government, sometimes it does not. Even in Malaysia, the practice is not exactly alien.

In Sabah in the 1990s, we’ve seen how assemblymen there switched sides, purportedly enticed by generous rewards that saw duly-elected governments toppled with nothing more than several strokes of the pen. And who were the engineers of these moves? The fourth PM, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in power then, with the operation being led by his then close ally Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

So, who is Dr Mahathir and Anwar to complain about the change in Kedah MB from lawmakers jumping ship when they were masters of the game in the past? Is it because Mukhriz is Dr Mahathir’s son and the former is mounting a challenge against Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in the upcoming party polls?

Even earlier, in 1977 a constitutional crisis brewed in Kelantan when Menteri Besar Datuk Mohamed Nasir from PAS was facing a revolt by the assemblymen from his own party who wanted to boot him from the post. It came to a head so much so that an Emergency was declared in the state.

Let’s not forget Perak in 2009 when the crossover of two Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen triggered the collapse of MB Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin, from PAS. So now it is wrong for PAS from Perikatan Nasional, to give back the same medicine to its political enemies? What kind of double standards is this?

But the Mother Of All Crossovers in Malaysia has to be Anwar’s Sept 16 caper. In 2008 that year, fresh from having denied BN of its traditional two-thirds majority during the12th general election, Anwar said he would form a new government by Malaysia Day with defections from BN.

His infamous “I have the numbers” fell flat, as did his dream of becoming PM. So, I find it deeply hypocritical for a coalition castigating the fall of the Kedah government when they were the ones who played the game when it suited them.