Disgruntled group wants Guan Eng sacked

SEPANG: A group of disgruntled DAP members are calling for the sacking of party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng for allegedly failing to manage the party fairly.

Among the accusations raised by the group, led by DAP's Pantai Sepang Putra branch deputy chairman Rashid Mohd Abdul Ghani, were that Lim and his “cronies” had been acting like dictators and endorsing the “wrong” results in the recent party elections.

“A huge mistake happened when a losing candidate was named a winner by Lim Guan Eng, but until today the secretary-general refuses to hold fresh party elections,” Rashid, who claims to represent about half of his branch's 120 members, told a press conference here yesterday.

Sections within DAP have been upset after the party changed its Central Executive Council committee election results three weeks after the December congress to admit Zairil Khir Johari.

DAP later clarified that there had been a technical glitch in the system, moving Zairil up from 39th position to 20th, thus making him narrowly qualify for a seat on the powerful CEC.

Rashid said the party polls scandal was just one of many grouses of his group against Lim, highlighting the sacking of their branch's previous chairman, R. Vellasamy, as among “iron-fisted moves” allegedly taken by the party to weed out detractors.

“Vellasamy was vocal about things that were not right in the party. Then, some jealous people accused him of misappropriating money in a temple where he heads the committee and he was sacked,” he said.

Rashid said his group was demanding that Lim call for fresh party polls to clean house or risk facing an internal rebellion.

“We won't jump party, but if these problems keep up, we may have to look at taking a new direction,” he said.

30 PKR and PAS members jump ship to join Umno

LANGKAWI: Thirty people claiming to be PKR and PAS members from Kampung Paya Kuala Teriang here have left the two parties to join Umno.

The group, led by Fauzi Taib, the younger brother of Langkawi PKR division deputy chairman Zainuddin Taib, submitted their application forms to Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when the latter visited Fauzi's mother Hawa Lazim.

Dr Ahmad Zahid was at the village yesterday to hand over a wheelchair to Hawa, 85, who is unable to move unaided due to poor eyesight and knee ailments.

Fauzi said the group was unhappy with both PKR and PAS for what he claimed was the failure to protect the welfare of the villagers.

Umno, on the other hand, had delivered what it promised, he added.

Of the 30 who submitted the forms, 20 were from PKR and 10 from PAS.

Dr Ahmad Zahid said the group's decision showed they acknowledge what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Barisan Nasional had done to help the people.

“They joined Umno because they were attracted to the welfare and development that the Prime Minister has been carrying out here and in the country,” he said.

Mukhriz: Azizan trying to divert public attention

ALOR SETAR: The PAS-led state government is not making any sense by demanding RM100mil from the Federal Government to ensure that no logging occurs in the water catchment areas, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said.

Mukhriz said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak was trying to divert public attention by blaming the Federal Government for the state's widespread logging.

“Azizan was trying to evade the issue. Even if he brings the matter to court, he will not win because there was no written agreement for compensation to be accorded,” he said after attending a briefing here.

He was commenting on Azizan's demand that the Federal Government should pay Kedah RM100mil annually if the authorities did not want the state to approve any logging projects.

Azizan had claimed that there was a verbal agreement over the payment between the two parties when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister.

Mukhriz also questioned why the state government kept pushing for agriculture when the state had the Kulim High-Technology Park, which was among the best manufacturing facilities in the country for high-impact industries.

He said after Pakatan Rakyat took over the state, Kedah recorded a massive drop in foreign and domestic direct investments.

In 2007, Kedah was among the top five in the country, with about RM14bil in investments, but the state could only rake in about RM10bil from 2008 until 2011, he said.

Kedah Umno Liaison Committee chairman Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah described Azizan as arrogant.

“How could he give an ultimatum to the Federal Government? As Mentri Besar, he should have not behaved in such a way,” he said yesterday.

Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said the state was desperate for money.

Khalid in the air

Uncertainty hangs over Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s political future in Selangor as sources in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have indicated that the first-term mentri besar could lose his post even if the pact retains the state in Election 2013.
The PKR leadership has so far refrained from confirming if Khalid would be selected to defend his seat, in light of growing anger among locals who purportedly view the politician as an “absent” representative.
The Malaysian Insider understands the party leadership had also, at one point, considered dropping Khalid as its Ijok candidate following concerns that the mentri besar could lose the seat.
“Locals see him as an absent representative, that he is never around so there is a perception. Sometimes we understand that he is the MB but even his people are never around so it’s hard to work on the ground,” a high ranking PR leader told The Malaysian Insider.
Talks that Khalid would be dropped first surfaced when PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced in October last year that the former would remain as PKR’s Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary candidate but did not state if Khalid (picture) would defend Ijok.
The announcement fuelled suspicion that the party was planning to replace him with current PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, who had purportedly vied for the post.
It also invited accusations that to placate Khalid, Anwar would promise him a federal post should the PR wrest Putrajaya.
“Did he state if Khalid would contest for Ijok? No he did not. You can make your own assumption,” said one PKR official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifudin Nasution, who sits on the party’s candidate listing committee, dismissed the rumour as baseless but did not confirm if the party’s plan to revamp its Selangor state-level line-up would exclude Khalid.
“I am very aware of every detail and there was no such thing. The party’s committee on candidacy chaired by Anwar is still engaging state level leaders on this matter,” he told The Malaysian Insider when asked to verify claims that PKR had once considered dropping Khalid from Ijok.
Spurring rumours of Khalid’s removal are problems afflicting the local PKR machinery.
Sources said Khalid has not been able to campaign effectively following the ongoing animosity between him and key campaign staff members, which has purportedly left the machinery near-paralysed.
There were talks that local leaders had refused to cooperate after Khalid rejected their demands for “payment” in return for their loyalty, as well as claims that Khalid’s poor communication skills and “arrogance” had triggered the rift.
PKR’s Ijok machinery chief staff Abdul Rahman Umar shrugged off the allegations but admitted that the central leadership has yet to confirm if Khalid would contest for the seat again.
“There is no confirmation...but we did nominate Tan Sri Khalid for Ijok,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
Abdul Rahman, a popular local figure known as Cikgu Rahman, explained the perception that the machinery was not with Khalid may have come from the drop in its campaign pace since April last year after there was no indication that elections would be held last year.
“Now we know the elections is near we have start working. Ijok is a small kampung (countryside) community. They will help. When the time comes they will help,” Abdul Rahman said.

Sabahans meet the real Huguan Siou

BEAUFORT: The Prime Minister took a swipe at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the Huguan Siou controversy by introducing the real holder of the title to the crowd.

At all the three places Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak went during his tour of Sabah yesterday here, Papar and Tuaran he introduced Deputy Chief Minister and PBS president Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan as the “original Huguan Siou”.

“This is the real Huguan Siou. Pairin is Huguan Siou. The other one (Anwar) is just palsu (fake),” he told the crowd, who cheered and clapped in response.

Photographs of the Opposition leader wearing a headgear and sash with the words “Huguan Siou” have caused disquiet among Sabahans.

Many have labelled the move to give him the title of paramount leader of the Kadazandusuns an affront to the community.

Speaking at a press conference earlier, Najib said he was satisfied with the preparations made by Sabah Barisan Nasional for the general election.

He said the coalition only faced minor issues and he was confident that they could be ironed out.

“We will continue to go to the ground to explain to the rakyat our policies and future plans.

“A vote for Barisan means a vote for a government with a concrete agenda and for peace and stability,” he said.

Najib added the general election was close but refused to say when it would be called.