Defected duo willing to declare assets

Campaign will come to an end at the stroke of midnight and the crack of dawn will mark the beginning of an important day in the history of Perak.

The people of Bukit Gantang will make a beeline for the ballot boxes to determine who would emerge victorious in the contest which has been described as a referendum on Barisan Nasional's political coup in the state.

Three men are in the race but the focus is on two - ousted menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin and Barisan Nasional's Ismail Saffian.

In February, the Pakatan Rakyat state government collapsed after four of its elected representatives left the coalition, three becoming 'BN friendly' independents and the other rejoining Umno.

Malaysiakini meets up with two of them, Mohd Osman Jailu (Changkat Jering) and Jamaluddin Mat Radzi (Behrang).

'We are willing to reveal all'

The duo disputed the allegation that they had left Pakatan Rakyat due to monetary rewards and were prepared to declare their assets.

According to Jamaluddin, 52, who was a postman back in 1992 and later a businessman, he is willing to disclose all in order to prove that he did not receive any money from BN.

"I have been in business for the past 16 years. Whoever wants to come to my place and check my properties and assets), I am willing to (reveal all).

"You can check my accounts, the benefits I get, how many wives and children I have and how many houses I own. Go ahead and check, that would not be a problem," he said, adding that this is a non issue which was brought up to tarnish his image.

For retired army captain Mohd Osman - whose Changkat Jering constituency falls under the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat - he is willing to declare his assets in order to clear his name among his constituents who would be casting their ballots tomorrow.

"I am willing to do it and I will do it voluntarily... unlike Pakatan (Perak government) who said that they would do it, but I haven't seen anything for the past 10 months," he said.

Ousted MB 'surrendered' to DAP leaders

Expressing disappointment with the former state government, Jamaluddin said the administration under the stewardship of Mohd Nizar failed to uphold the principle of fairness.

He claimed that Mohd Nizar always 'surrendered' to the demands by Perak DAP state chief Ngeh Koo Ham and its secretary Nga Kor Ming.

"That's why I have been telling the people that the former state government was governed by 3Ns - Ngeh, Nga and Nizar - with Mohd Nizar being the last person (to have power)," he said.

On the other hand, Mohd Osman said he felt that both he and Jamaluddin were sidelined when Mohd Nizar did not telephone them when they were on medical leave.

"When he claimed that we were kidnapped and taken away (by BN), I was actually still waiting for his phone call. But he never called me before I made my decision (to leave Pakatan). This looked as if we were not wanted anymore," he said.

If he had called, Mohd Osman said, the duo were willing to dialogue with the ousted menteri besar on the changes that could be made to the state government.

"We were waiting so that Mohd Nizar would discuss these issues with us. But the discussion never took place. Mohd Nizar always preferred to discuss with Ngeh and Nga and other DAP leaders before making any statement," he added.

During a ceramah organised by Mohd Osman and Jamaluddin in Changkat Jering last night, Mohd Nizar's brother Mohd Radhi Jamaluddin was also present to campaign against his sibling.

Addressing some 80 people, Mohd Radhi Jamaluddin steered clear of personal attacks but vowed to work towards a BN victory.